The Devils in the Details
by Idratherbereading29
Summary: Jasper Whitlock has been alone a long time, when he finally finds his mate. Bella's move to Forks could provide the perfect opportunity to approach and change her, if it weren't for the other vampire family already there as well as other people's agendas.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ok, I'm back. I wanted to play around a little more with my favourite characters and also try a slower approach to a story rather than the rollercoaster of SSOH, so you'll have to be patient to find out how the thing unfolds.**_

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

Prologue

Jasper's POV

She dropped into my life. My undead life. Literally.

I was streaking along a campsite in the dark, looking for prey, when I heard a cry and something dropped from an overhanging rock formation above me. It landed in a crumpled heap before my feet, and I heard the sound of a heart and smelt the scent of blood at once. The scent hit me with a vengeance and certainly not in the way it usually did. I was hungry as hell. My last kill had left me so depressed that I had been starving myself to the point of being almost out of control. In the end I had taken to running the desert at night, basically hoping that a fight would find me weakened, and this existence of death and terror could finally come to an end.

Of course, I had given in to the beast and had started looking for prey again, disgusting. However, now, with a bleeding human at my feet, I felt no thirst at all, but happiness and an overwhelming need to guard and protect the creature in front of me as best as I could for the rest of my existence. Confused I approached the human moaning at my feet. What should I do?

I was saved from any further thinking about that when running steps came closer and a worried voice sounded out in the night: "Bella? Bella darling, what have you done now? Are you hurt?" A pretty woman in a floating flowery skirt bent down to the other human on the ground.

"Maybe I should call an ambulance?" I suggested suavely. Then I stopped breathing, struggling to stay in control and not to just jump and drain her. Obviously she knew the person who was about to become my life, and I really did not want her first impression of me to be that of a killer butchering someone next to her. Getting away now was not an option after the woman had shone a flashlight straight into my face. "What happened?" I asked, sending trust her way. I did not want to explain why I was walking around here at night.

She pushed some hair out of her eyes and shook her head. "My daughter must have been sleepwalking again and stumbled off that cliff. Yes, an ambulance would be good, but my cell", she checked hers, "Is not charged, as usually. Could you please…"

Oh god, I had almost killed her mother. "Of course, no problem."

At that moment the girl on the floor sat up. "Mom? What's going on?"

"Shh, darling, we'll get you to a doctor soon, just lie back down." The woman wrapped her in her poncho to keep her warm.

I swallowed hard. The girl with the amazing scent had the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes and wonderful long mahogany hair. I looked closer and started. I would have to talk to Peter, at once.


	2. Chapter 2

_**another thing I wanted to do differently was that I wanted to have more perspectives on the action. Tell me what you think!**_

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

Peter's POV

Jasper called me at three in the morning, which was kind of unusual. Not that he could actually have been waking either of us, but with living in the Southwest, we tended to hunt nocturnally and do all the other stuff when we couldn't go outside for fear of exposure.

He was as excited as I've only seen him once before, that was when Char and I had come to get him away from that bitch Maria all those years ago. After that he had stayed with us for a while, but left when he couldn't stand our kind of happy as a couple situation, while he was on his own. He had roamed around since then, becoming more and more depressed and listless through the years. There was no sense in our existence, he claimed, unless one had a mate. He had become sure by now that there was no one out there for him, and with him projecting his own mood, it had become increasingly difficult having him around as a guest, much as we liked him.

Anyway, now he called and started talking rapidly before I had even said hello to him. "Whoa, slow down!" I hollered.

He didn't give any indication that he had heard me. "So, will you come here now to take a look at her? I really don't know what to do, it's … complicated."

"Just calm down, will ya? You think you've found your mate. Congratulations! Yes, I will take a look at her, there's nothing that would stop me from doing that, I'm so curious, but what's your beef? Take her!"

"She's human, I told you!" Disapproving.

"So? Change her!"

"I can't."

I snickered. "YOU can't change a human? That's new one. Hey, if she's your mate, you won't let anyone else touch her anyway. I'm not about to have my head ripped off by my oldest friend."

I heard a creaking sound, apparently he had just shattered something into microscopic fractures. Oh dear, the Major's temper was out. "All right, all right, where are you, I'm coming."

"I'm in Phoenix", he gave me the address and at least sounded a bit more rational now that he had some precise planning to do. I kissed Char good-bye and left at once.

"Show me the wondergirl!" I told Jasper some hours later. He had told me to meet him at an address in Phoenix. Being out in the daytime was not a good idea for us, but we were lucky once more, as it was one of the rare overcast days in that city.

My friend pointed to a gangly brunette reading outside a house with a pained look on his face.

Oh boy. How would I tell him about it? Well, better get it over with fast. "Sorry, Major, no doing here. She's too young."

He looked away, and I could see that he had known that himself and had just needed someone else to actually say it. "How much?" He pressed out between gritted teeth.

"How much what?"

"How long will I have to wait?"

I took another look. She was quite pretty, pale and dark-haired, a bit of a Snow-white look on her, dark eyes though, probably would grow up to become really good-looking, but there was no telling what she'd really look like once the coltish-ness of youth was gone, and her proportions would be right again. "Phew, she's all of what, 14?" I was sure he had already researched her in the time it took me to get here, perfectionist that he was. He kicked a stone with his boot and nodded.

"Three to four years. You want a woman, not a girl for your mate, man." I braced myself for the explosion that was bound to follow and looked up surprised when none came. "Jasper?"

His eyes were on her, but I could tell his gaze was focussed on something far away. Suddenly he turned to me. "I'll wait then and make sure nothing happens to her. Thanks for coming so promptly."

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, actually, it's… strange to have a purpose again after such a long time." He smiled sheepishly.

I grinned back. "Well, at least she'll be the best-protected teenager in Arizona for the next few years."

Jasper bought a house in Phoenix the next day, and I don't think he left her alone more than he needed to feed. We visited him several times – there was no way I could have kept Charlotte away once she had found out about the girl – and found him in much better shape than before.

Three and a half years later I had another late night phone call. "Yes?"

He was breathless at the other end. "It's perfect. She's moving north to live with her dad for the last two years at school. I can snatch her from there and…"

Charlotte was gesticulating wildly, and I feared she would combust if I didn't approach the topic of our many debates about the whole thing right now. I sighed and interrupted his word flow. "Ok, ok, but are you sure about the snatching? Why don't you just get to know her the good old-fashioned way, make her fall in love with you and change her then? Charlotte thinks that would be best, too." My mate made a face: It had been her who had come up with the idea.

"Yes, she told me in all so many words herself last time you were here."

"And?" She had? Why did no one ever tell me anything?

"I said I'd think about it."

"In other words, no. Care to explain why?"

"What if she… I mean, how can I know… she's nice, she's a really good person. What makes you think she'd fall in love with someone like me?"

Good heavens. "Jasper, if she's your mate, she will fall for you. Are you having doubts about the whole thing?"

"No, I'm just… it's… well, I'm me, and…"

Charlotte snatched the phone from me. "Jasper, what's not to love? From what I've seen, she will not be put off by a few scars, especially if she's your mate. Go for it. What do you say to moving up early, so you can get the lay of the land and we take over watching her?"

"That's an idea", I agreed. "You could get a place and work up a legend or something."

In the end we talked him round and thought that finally the whole thing would get started the way it was supposed to be.

Obviously we had not a clue how the story would unfold!


	3. Chapter 3

_**I know I promised to answer the reviews to my last story, but it turns out I can either do that or continue writing as fast as I do… So I thank all the reviewers once again and keep up the – hopefully – good work**_

_**twilight still belongs to SM**_

2

Peter's POV

Four weeks left to the move, and so far nothing had happened to the apple of the Major's eye. Char and I felt like we already knew the girl, and we both liked her, which was a good thing – having him get together with someone we couldn't stand would have been awkward, to say the least. What was a bit odd, was that though she had become a really stunning girl, none of the boys at her school ever seemed to want to go out with her. Well, I mean she was bookish and so clumsy as to almost qualify as handicapped, but still… When I talked about that with Charlotte, she giggled and pointed out that it might have something to do with Jasper. Must ask him about that at the next opportunity.

Anyway, for now she was tucked up in bed, and hopefully nothing untoward could happen to her there. I turned to leave for Jasper's house, when my phone started ringing. "Yes, Jasper, she's still in one piece!" He had already checked in twice that day, which he did daily.

Now he was in the hell of a bad mood. "I'm really not sure the whole thing isn't jinxed."

"Why would you say that? She's a darling, and hopefully, once she's turned, she'll even be graceful, or at least she won't hurt herself anymore falling down."

"First the father, now that!" The last time he phoned he had just found out that Bella's father, with whom she planned on living the next two years, was the Chief of Police in the small town of Forks, Washington. This meant that the snatching idea was definitely gone: Charlie Swan would get the FBI on his daughter's tracks and cause one hell of a fuss, which we didn't need with a newborn on our hands. No, that had sealed the idea of consensual changing once and for all.

"What else have you found?"

"Vampires!"

"Eh – yes, scary beasts they are, and…?"

"A whole freakin' coven of them live here!"

"What do you mean?" The place was quite small.

"They live here, got a house and go to school…"

"Whoa, how…" Not a chance.

"I've taken a closer look, I thought they must be kiddin' me, when I saw them first, and then there were more and more. The head of the coven is a doc at the local hospital, that's probably how they feed…"

"How can he be a doctor?" Had he been having a drunk?

"How the hell should I know! What was Bella thinking when she agreed to move up here? They could drain her in no time!"

I could tell my hypersensitive friend was freaking out, but by now my head was also spinning. "Wait, calm down. How many are there?"

"Six, three males, three females."

"Maybe they're nomads and just need a little pushing along their way…" Jasper was good at getting rid of undesirables. He would just send a little fear and frustration their way, and usually the clever ones took to their heels as soon as they saw him anyway. The dumb ones were easily dealt with.

Not this time it seemed. "Ha-bloody-ha", he snorted. "I told you, they go to school here. They are said to have moved down from Alaska two years ago. The doc and his mate pass for the adoptive parents of the rest."

"Yeah, but how can they do that?" There was no way six vampires could live together peacefully.

"No idea. Can you ask someone about a Carlisle Cullen? That's the name the oldest one goes under. I need some more information to decide what to do."

"Can you take them down?"

"Maybe, though one of them's quite brawny, but you know…" He left the rest of the sentence open.

"Yes, I know, you're fed up with killin' vamps and wagin' war. OK, I'll nose around discreetly."

"Thanks, Pete."

Jasper's POV

I clicked my phone shut after the call to Peter and shook my head. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I first laid eyes on the vampires who lived here. I had thought the first couple I'd seen had been nomads, but then more and more kept popping up around the place. It was extraordinarily suited to people like us, I have to admit, sunny days were rare, and Seattle was close enough to feed if you didn't mind a brisk run with your meals. When the lady at the library had told me about the doc though, I was sure she was having me on or the contacts I had put in to disguise my eyes were having strange side-effects, but she seemed to be absolutely serious and spoke about the 'Cullen family' as she called them with high praise. "The doctor's wife is doing charity around town, and the kids are all extremely well-behaved." I still couldn't believe what I had heard.

Still wondering what to do, I turned and headed east again for Seattle, when I bumped into the big brawny guy. OK, thinking time is over. I hissed and crouched, ready to attack, but giving him fair warning. At that moment something flew at my back, and had I not been very fast in reacting, the other vampire would have been able to take off my head. As it was, I managed to tackle her – it was one of the females – down and was just about to finish her off, when a high-pitched voice close by squeaked. "Enough, he's not really dangerous…"

I stopped long enough to look up and see another vampire – a small female with spiky black hair talking to the big guy who was getting ready to attack me. I growled at him in a way that made him stop in his tracks. The woman beneath me screeched at the newcomer: "Not dangerous? Have you seen him? The scars and the way he attacked Emmett, not to mention me?"

"Yes, but he's not going to kill a defenceless woman, are you?" She looked at me directly with her huge amber eyes.

Amber? Huh? I was confused enough to let go of the female. I covered my gaffe by drawling "Of course not, Ma'am", in my Southern accent.

The huge male was not buying. He put himself in front of his companion and growled. "He'd better not." Oh dear, another one of those who won't stand down until they've provoked me to a fight. I had come to hate that aspect of my existence. Whereever I went, someone thought they would be fine picking a fight against me. As of today they had all been wrong. Maria's training and apparently some kind of talent had let me come out on top in all those fights. True, I had gotten a few more scars that way, but I had yet to lose a fight. Of course I knew that sooner or later someone would get me in a weak moment, and I really hated the killing. I sometimes wished I could just disappear into an existence where no one would be challenging me, hopefully with Bella, but I wasn't sure that time had come yet.

The small vampire was not about to let the fighting start again either: "Emmett, please, I've seen it, he's nice, and he will be our friend."

I don't know who was more surprised by that statement, me or the couple of vampires who had fought me first, but they stood down, and the small black-haired female danced toward me smiling widely. "Hello there, I'm Alice, and you're going to really like me." She had me so surprised, that I didn't even react when she planted a kiss on my cheek. As she was a tiny little thing, she had to get on tiptoes for that, and it was rather cute. I also had been abstaining from having any women since I'd found Bella, and it was starting to become a strain.

Meanwhile the tall guy had got a cell-phone out of his pocket and was talking to someone. "Carlisle, we've found the nomad. Alice says he's going to stay with us, should we simply bring him home? … OK."

After he had ended the call, he held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Emmett, this lioness here is Rosalie, my wife."

"Jasper", I said curtly. I did not shake his hand. I'm not much for touching and mistrust other vampires habitually, but he seemed not offended. His mate however was still glaring at me. "Don't you dare hurt him!" she hissed at me.

Alice was unfazed by the whole thing and chirped. "Great, let's all go home first and talk some more there!" Then she tried to take my hand into hers to pull me along. I gave her a sceptical look and did not comply, until she gave me a cute little pout. As soon as she had my hand, she smiled gladly and started running to the big house in the forest where they all lived.

I had not dared approaching the building so far, sure that they would have some kind of security, if not an ambush ready for such occasions, but I have to admit that I was rather curious to find out how they lived.

Well, it certainly looked like they had money, a lot of it. I was no poor man myself, but they were clearly out of my league. Apparently they had been at this settled living for a while yet, to be able to amass enough riches. I decided to try and stay calm and find out as much as I could about them from the visit.

_**Righty-ho – that's it for now. Don't forget to review! **___


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ok, let's meet the Cullens!**_

_**thanks for all the adds, but… reviews are nicer… **___

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

3

Jasper's POV

Alice led the way to the spacious first floor living area where the other three vampires were waiting. I kept my mind carefully blank, judging this situation to be some kind of parley in enemy territory.

From across the room three faces stared at me with curiosity. A small slight woman with caramel-coloured hair and kind eyes took one look at my scars and hid behind a blond vampire whom I knew to be the leader, Carlisle. The other male, a boy of about seventeen with reddish messed up hair, gazed into my eyes intently as if he wanted to look into the depth of my soul. I mistrusted him instantly, and decided to send some trust out to those people who were clearly in the advantage here, at least as far as numbers were concerned. They did not look like fighters, but you never knew, so I stayed tense and alert.

The leader checked with the other male and acknowledged me with a nod. "I'm Carlisle. We are not about to attack you, so you can calm down."

"His name is Jasper", said Alice, "and he's going to be part of this family. I knew he would be coming soon."

"How did you know that?" I was wondering by now if she was a bit… deranged.

The boy across the room smiled at me at that moment, but Alice simply turned to me and said. "Well, I've been expecting you since you decided to come up here."

Ah, so they were a coven with some gifted people as well. I grinned crookedly. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Ma'am."

"Jasper, my name is Carlisle, this is my mate Esme and my son Edward. I believe you already know the rest of my family." When I nodded, he continued. "We are quite a bit different from the rest of our kind; we live off animal blood and don't kill humans. That enables us to lead an almost normal life." My face must have been projecting keen interest, because he continued animatedly. "The more you abstain from human blood, the easier it is to interact with humans and lead a settled life."

"There is another way of life for our kind?" Christmas had just come early. I had been fed up with all the killing and violence for a long time. Was that kind-eyed man actually offering a way out of this hell? A normal life with a family of sorts and a mate?

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, there is. It's not easy, especially in the beginning, but if you would like to try it, we could offer you a chance…"

Rosalie cleared her throat.

"Yes, Rosalie?"

"He is a fighter, look at his scars, he's wild. I know Alice says you can trust him, but this is going a bit fast for me. He was about to kill me half an hour ago."

Great, just like the rest of my existence. I had just ruined my chances. In contrast to all other vampire groups I had come across so far, this one was held together by love, not terror or hatred. Another lost chance. I looked down in shame, until I heard another voice.

"He doesn't like killing, he actually hoped you would just run away after you had seen his scars, and he was defending himself against you after you had come to defend Emmett."

Huh? That was exactly what I had been thinking a moment ago. I looked into Edward's eyes and saw a slightly smug smile there.

"Edward's right, Rosie, Jasper gave fair warning", Emmett told his wife, "and if Alice thinks he would fit in, I wouldn't mind another brother." His smile was open and hearty, and this time I took his outstretched hand.

"Perhaps you should let him say something himself", Esme said quietly. She was still keeping close to her mate, but her eyes weren't filled with fear anymore. She was acting like a worried mother or host who wanted to make someone feel at home.

I swallowed. "If you're willing to let me try this, I would be very happy. I am indeed sick of killing; I never knew there was another way…"

Carlisle came toward me with outstretched hands. "Welcome to the family then, Jasper."

"We'll find a room for you, and I'll help you do it up", said Esme, her face glowing with anticipation.

"He could pass as Rosalie's twin", Alice said. "Then he would be in school with Emmett and her for only a few months until graduation, to try it so to speak."

"Mm, and we'll have to think of some kind of legend why you came so late", Edward mused, looking at me again in his inquisitive way.

_You can read my thoughts, can't you?_ I thought, returning his stare.

He nodded.

OK, here was one to be wary of, especially as I'm a distinctly private person. I knew I would have to give them something about my past, but I wanted to make sure I was the one who decided what.

"How does the animal blood thing work?" I asked to deflect attention from my person.

Emmett grinned. "I can show you. In effect, you simply hunt down your prey and feed. We go to National Parks sometimes for carnivores, which last longer; otherwise the forests around here are full of deer and the occasional moose."

"What do you prefer?" I asked.

His grin became even wider. "Bears, grizzly if possible. Edward likes mountain lions best, while Rosie goes after wildcats."

"I see. What do you do with school when the weather is sunny?"

"We ditch!" Alice said. "I'm quite useful as a weatherman, so I can tell beforehand. In any case you don't have to worry about that a lot up here, it's mostly rainy. Sunny days are excellent for hunting."

"How is your school experience?" Edward asked after a quick exchange with Carlisle. I made a mental note that they seemed to be quite close and that Edward had probably picked up something from Carlisle to prompt this line of questioning.

"Ok – for the nineteenth century, but I'm a fast learner."

"Spanish?"

"No problemo." I had learned that early on in my new existence with Maria.

"Good."

The rest of the evening passed with more organisational discussion and trying to get to know each other better. I liked Carlisle immediately – he seems a thoroughly good man. The same goes for Emmett. I'm not sure about Rosalie: She looks like a vapid fashion doll, but I think she is very bright and alert, not the warmest type of person. Edward is… very young, I think, and quite full of himself. Esme obviously likes the role of the mother of this family, but I'm not yet sure if I'll let myself be mothered after more than 150 years on my own. Alice? No idea, but I'm sure she'll find some way to be alone with me soon; I can sense a lot of desire and curiosity from her.

How do I find a gentlemanly way to explain to her that I'm not really interested, that is, that I have a mate? I don't want to give away anything about Bella and the purpose of my stay yet.

Carlisle's POV

It looks like I've acquired a new son. We had been aware of another vampire in the vicinity for some days, and tonight Emmett, Rosalie and Alice have brought him home.

Jasper must have gone through hell from the way he looked. His scars show that he has survived either an awful lot of horrible torture or quite a lot of fights. His whole demeanour was that of a soldier, so I think he's one of the few survivors of the vampire wars. His Southern accent also points in this direction. If he has left that life and not gotten involved with the Volturi, he is obviously not interested in power, and I had the impression of a very sensitive, quite probably pained and depressed young man who wants a different life, which was why I signalled to Edward not to go prying into his past. He will tell us what we need to know once he has opened up a bit more, and for now I'm quite sure he is no danger to our family. Apart from that Alice seems very taken with him, she is quite enthusiastic, and I only hope he shares that, or he will have a hard time.

He went out hunting with Emmett and Edward for two hours and came back with some amber flecks in his previously red eyes, looking quite optimistic. Afterwards he left to get his car and half an hour later he came in again carrying a duffel bag and a guitar case. I smiled when I saw that – another musician in the house.

Esme must have had the same thought – she had the same wide grin – and took my hand to lead him to the room she had assigned to him. She wasn't confident about being alone with him yet, I could feel that, but she didn't want him to feel hurt.

Alice had insisted about him staying in her rooms, but I had told her to give him time.

"But he is going to be with me, I've seen it!" She protested.

"That might be right, but let's not overwhelm him. Just give him time."

She had retreated to her fashion magazine with a pout, and Rosalie rolled her eyes.

In the early hours Jasper knocked on my study door. "Carlisle? Can I have a word?"

"Yes, come on in", I pointed to one of the comfortable leather chairs Esme had found for my room. "Were you all right with the hunt and the room?"

"Of course. And thank you, the room is really nice. I… like my privacy, and Emmett said you usually work it out so that everybody has enough room to withdraw."

"Can't have it any other way, not with our kind", I smiled.

"As for the hunt: I just… it feels stupid now, but I just never thought about that possibility. I thought I was trapped in all this killing and the fear and horror…" He had that tense look on his face again, and I sensed that he might be ready to open up a little.

"You have been depressed for a long time."

He nodded, and suddenly I could feel a wave of sadness and depression hit me, coupled with self-loathing and terror. "Do you have any …talents?"

He shook his head. "Yes, I'm an empath. I can feel other people's feelings. I felt the fear and anger of everyone I've killed and fought. Now you have shown me a possibility out of that, for which I thank you."

I acknowledged his speech with a nod, but was sure that he had another thing he wanted to talk to me about, so I waited patiently.

He cleared his throat. "I've been thinking. Maybe it would be better, if I was in class with Alice and Edward. With their gifts they could keep me in check before I wreak havoc in such close proximity to humans. I know it would mean a longer time, and we would have to come up with something to explain why I'm a junior when I'm quite obviously older, but…"

I waved off his worries. "Let us do that for you, we have a lot of routine that way."

He looked relieved. "I had hoped that. Thank you for taking me in, Carlisle. Friends are hard to come by in this existence."

At least he opened up a little. I think Esme will be happy about that as well as about having another son to fuss about. I will have to remind her though that he has been fending for himself for quite a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

…_**on with the next chapter – have fun and don't forget to tell me what you think**_

_**as always, twilight belongs to SM**_

4

A week later

Peter's POV

Jasper called again, sounding over the moon. The past few times he had just been texting, asking for news on Bella, and I was sure he was keeping something from me, not a good sign with him. We had tried to reach him, but his phone just went straight to voicemail, and after three days Char and I were really worried. Now I listened in silence while he enthused about the Cullens and their lifestyle.

"So, does it work?" I asked when I finally got a word in.

"Of course it works", he said impatiently. "I've been feeding on deer and moose, and we went to Mount Rainier yesterday to get some more lasting stuff."

"What's more lasting?"

"Anything that eats meat. Mountain lions are good."

"Aha, and you don't crave any other blood?" I was sceptical about this stunt, much as I wanted him to have found a way to deal with his gift and his conscience.

"I'm not sure, I think, I'll always want that, but at least this way I won't be dangerous if I don't get it, and I can survive."

"H-hm. Jasper, I hope you have not been talking about your past too much with them…" I knew he was a reserved kind of guy, but with this new-found lifestyle (Jasper staying with other vamps voluntarily?) I hoped he hadn't let his guard down.

"No, I… Peter, I like them, and I don't want them scared."

"Good, because I have found out a bit about your 'father'-figure. Turns out he is a friend of Aro Volturi, used to live with them for a while."

"I can't really believe that, Edward said that Carlisle has never even had human blood, that doesn't sound like a Volturi at all." He sounded incredulous, appalled even.

"Jasper, be careful. You said he has people with gifts, maybe he's collecting for Aro…"

"I really don't think so, he is sincere and a thoroughly good man. Besides, once I have Bella, I would not have to convince her to become a killer, but just to join a family, which I think will be far easier than the other option."

I sighed. Of course we had hoped they would be joining us. Char was next to me at once, comforting me and frowning at the news.

Apparently he had caught on to my thoughts. "Peter, I'm not abandoning anyone, it's just that for once in more than a century I haven't killed to eat… it's… fantastic."

"Ok, good for you. And you are sure about that High School stunt?"

"Yes, we'll try that in two weeks. I've been cramming up on facts and the stuff they have to learn nowadays, confusing, I can tell you, but I'll be sitting at my desk when Bella comes here."

"Now that will be impressive." The God of War was going to High School.

"Yep, and I'll be the other new guy, and a junior too, plus we're trying to get me into all of Bella's courses…"

"You told them about her?"

"No, there is a slight… difficulty."

Aha, here it comes. "Such as?" Just then I saw a tiny spiky-haired female vampire. "Oh, having girlfriend trouble?"

"How do you…? Ah, just forget it. In a way, Alice is interested, but I've told her, I'm not. It didn't seem a good idea to tell them about Bella yet."

"I thought so. How are you dealing with their gifts?" Knowing the Major, I was sure that he would have been strategising on that as well.

"It's difficult but manageable if you know how they work. Got to go now. I call you later." With that the connection was cut. Apparently he had been keeping our connection a secret – wise move.

"Char", I said. "as soon as Bella moves, we're going up to Washington State, too. That whole set-up sounds a bit too good to be true to me."

She nodded with a grim face.

Two weeks later

Edward's POV

Today is the big day – our new brother will go to school with us. We have found a legend for him, which will explain why he as Rosalie's brother has only now joined us as well as help with keeping humans at a distance to make it easier for him.

Jasper is a very private person, apparently Carlisle is right, and there is something in his past that has made him extremely wary of other vampires. We can talk easily about literature and history which he's very much interested in, and he has a lot of original thoughts on historical topics. He was the fastest person ever to catch on to my gift and keeps his thoughts very much to himself. I can feel he's hiding something, but Alice assures me, it will not be dangerous for our family. I feel a bit … uneasy with him, everything about him screams killer, but Alice has definitely fallen for him, she is thinking about making him hers almost constantly, and in a very lustful way too. If I still could I would be blushing, and I'm pretty sure Jasper can feel her too, though how he feels about it I don't know.

Carlisle told me he is an empath and that that made him fed up with killing humans, which was what made him so eager to join our lifestyle. I hope so, because I don't want to see Carlisle and Esme hurt. Esme likes the idea of another son, and apparently he is quite attractive to females – which I can't understand – but always makes sure she's not alone with him. Jasper on the other hand seems to like her a lot, Carlisle thinks, her emotions are peaceful to him, which is quite probably true.

Emmett has really taken to him already, the two have been out hunting together a lot, and of course Emmett would also like to see Alice happy. The same goes for Rosalie in a way; she is less enthusiastic about Jasper, though she also finds him attractive. Oh dear, what will happen when the human girls see him?

I have noticed that he tends to stay out at night, and last night I followed him into the forest. We hadn't gotten far when he suddenly jumped me and only let off after identifying me. Must ask him, how he learned to fight that way.

"Why are you following me around?" He asked, still tense and thinking about how to get the better of me in case I attacked again.

"Well, what would you do if a new member of your coven went on secretive walks and kept his thoughts from you?"

He smiled at me crookedly. "I don't know about the thought thing, but as for the solitary walks, well, how would you feel if you could not only hear those two passionate couples' thoughts but feel their emotions as well while you were on your own?"

"Oh", I was nonplussed. I had never figured someone could get into my very own predicament, being as uncomfortable around all that passion as I was. "You're right. I do apologise." He waved the apology away. "Do you want to be alone?"

"No, it's ok." He asked me questions about Alice and the other family members, and only when we returned to the house in the early hours did I realise that while I wanted information, he had been the one getting it. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there is something about Jasper that makes me uneasy, and I think that charisma of his ought to be watched closely.

Today worked out quite well. He was strained and tense all through school, but as he is with either me or Alice in every lesson, we could keep track of his thoughts and intentions easily – no danger there. He must be extremely disciplined, and he is certainly determined to make this work.


	6. Chapter 6

_**and another chapter. yes, I know, this is meant to be a Bella and Jasper story, and it's going to be one, so you're going to see some interaction of the two in the next chapter, but for now, bear with me (and don't kill me: I going to need everything that happens in this chapter later, yes, everything!)**_

_**twilight still belongs to Sm**_

5

Edward' POV

That was a really close call. Jasper had been good all week, and maybe that was what made us careless today.

He had been straining to change his gym class, as there is a boy in mine who keeps getting nosebleeds – not good. Alice's was no option either, as she is in an all girls dance class, so we agreed to have him in the volleyball group on his own.

Shortly after the last period I heard Alice in my head, desperately telling me to get to Jasper as fast as I could. I made a decision to do that and could see what the danger was at once: He had taken a girl – that silly Jessica creature – for a walk to the woods and wanted to drain her. Knowing that Alice would text Emmett as well, I tore off in the direction I had seen them disappear.

Damnit! We had all seen that she had been flirting wildly with him all week. She had even shamelessly pretended to stumble going to the cafeteria once so that he would be obliged to steady her, and she could end up in his arms. If anyone had behaved like that in my time, their reputation would have been ruined once and for all, but unfortunately things have changed quite a lot since then.

As soon as I was out of the public eye, I ran at full speed, and soon I could hear her talking in that annoying voice from afar – at least she was still talking. Then she stopped. Oh god! I ran faster and came to a clearing where Jasper had her pressed against a broad tree trunk, his face buried at her neck. Too late – only, I could smell no blood yet, strange. And she wasn't screaming either. Jasper had his hands up her short skirt and was rubbing himself against her. Her thinking was incoherent though while her breath came in short gasps, and I could hear my newest brother moan with pleasure. _So soft and warm, yes, just like that, more, oh, you're killing me. Yes, yes…ah…_

I simply didn't know what to do or how to react in that situation. Suddenly Emmett and Rosalie whisked by me, and Rosalie cleared her throat right next to Jasper. "Eh – Jasper?"

When he turned to us, we could all see his excited black eyes, and his expression mirrored his thoughts completely: _How am I going to attack and get rid of them all quickly?_ He was growling under his breath so quietly that only we could hear him.

Emmett and I went to Rosalie's side at once, but before we could say anything, Jessica hissed at us to get lost. "Can't you see we want to be alone?"

Rosalie made an exasperated sound and looked at the girl as if she was a slightly disgusting bug. She took hold of Jasper's arm and turned him to her. "Excuse us, Jessica, but my brother has a very important appointment in Olympia, and we're already late."

I certainly admired my sister's courage in touching a vampire who was so clearly going to fight for his meal, and Emmett was thinking the same, because he took her arm away at once. "Hey, bro, we really need to get on the road if you want to be on time with your parole man, come on."

Jessica's colour changed when she heard the word parole, and I could hear her chastising herself for falling in with the bad guy. "Eh – Jazz, I'll be …like… leaving then if you have to be somewhere else, right?" With that she took herself off straightening her clothes on the way, her face by now beet red with shame at having been found making out by her boyfriend's siblings.

Emmett stopped Jasper from going for Rosalie and me by planting himself firmly in his way. "No! If you have to fall off the wagon, you have to do it elsewhere, man, not with the greatest gossip of our school. Now calm the hell down!"

Jasper's growling stopped, and he turned away in shame. "I… I'm sorry, I need to be alone." With that he took off running just seconds before Alice appeared in the clearing with us.

"You don't need to go after him, he's not going to hurt anyone", she panted breathlessly. "Sorry, I couldn't get out in time."

"Are you really sure about him?" Rosalie asked.

"Yes, Rose, I need him, and think: he has been so good all week. We just need to go hunting on the weekend, and then he will be fine. We all know it gets easier."

Rose still looked doubtful, but Emmett nodded. "At least a little and you're right, with all those females making eyes at him all week he was bound to slip."

"What a wonderful prospect", Rosalie scoffed, and inwardly I agreed.

Alice however was still unfazed. "I have a solution for that already, and I'm going to convince him of it." With that she skipped away in the direction Jasper had gone minutes earlier.

"What's she got in mind now?" Emmett asked me.

I shrugged. "She wants to get him to play her boyfriend from next week onwards. That might actually stop people like Jessica; I don't think they are all that comfortable with getting in our little sister's way."

Emmett grinned. "Absolutely, the pixie is one tough little fighter. She would probably tear any girl to bits who so much as glanced at him."

"Like that's going to save us here", Rosalie said in a grave voice. "OK, folks, let's go. I think the show is over for now."

We got into my Volvo and went home.

Jasper's POV

School had been harder than I cared to admit to my new family. I had not been in such close proximity to humans since I had been turned, and I think only the time I spent around Bella and the prospect of her arriving in a few days made this possible.

What I had been completely unprepared for, was the reactions of the human girls. I sensed some curiosity and ultimately resentment from the boys at the school, but from the girls I got nothing but interest and in the worst case unadulterated lust. Ok, I know we are attractive to humans, it helps us hunt, but it's just one more problem with being an empath that you have to deal with these feelings as well.

Being in a gym class with Edward didn't help either, just the opposite, because most of the girls there had been making eyes at him for some time it seemed, and those who didn't want me, were drooling about him. I got out of that class, only to find myself in a group with Jessica Stanley, a girl who had been flirting quite aggressively already all week. By Friday afternoon I was weakened enough to give in to her. The predator part of my mind had taken care to get her away from school, and had it not been for the others' timely arrival, she would have met her end right there.

I was deeply ashamed and frustrated when I realised what I had done. I had no idea how they were going to cover up my gaffe, I had put my new family, who had taken me in and trusted me, in danger of exposure, and I could feel disappointment coming from Edward and resentment from Rosalie. Emmett only gave off pity, which was worst, so I ran – my usual response to stress. I was sure I would be running out of the country, I had no idea how to ever face them again.

Soon I could sense another vampire following me; I heard small feet lightly touching the ground as the pursuer ran to catch up with me. Right now I did not need anyone confronting me – I hated myself and the world to boot, I was sure that I was no good to anyone, especially not the nice people who had taken me in. Becoming involved with Bella, that sweet human girl who was my mate, was completely out of the question for a monster such as me, so the best I could do was take myself away from her as far as possible. I turned aggressively and growled a warning.

"Shh, Jasper, it's me, please don't run!" Alice was next to me the next second, holding up her small hands to me in supplication. When I didn't say anything she came closer and started stroking me carefully, radiating desire. That was the last straw. I gave in and took her right there on the forest floor, again and again.

When I came to my senses again after a couple of hours I was mortified, completely disgusted with myself. "Alice, I'm… I don't know what to say…"

"Shh, it's ok. That was really nice." She was smiling and running her hand through my hair, and I could feel nothing but satisfaction and happiness from her.

Oh no. Better get this over with as soon as possible. "Alice, I'm really sorry, but I am not your mate, I do not love you." Now she could start tearing me apart.

"I know, but I still liked it. You definitely needed some loving and…" She was still cheerful about the whole thing.

I scowled at her. "I was using you. Everybody was throwing lust at me, and I needed release. I'm despicable. I'm an animal. I better leave at once before I end up tearing Esme apart for having a loving nature."

"Hey, can you stop beating yourself up? You didn't exactly hear me screaming for you to stop, did you?"

No, she hadn't been, but I knew the perks of being an empath, my female kills had never protested until the very last moment. "Mm, but your whole family is in danger of exposure because of me."

She got up and pulled me with her. "Don't worry, we'll deal with it. Besides, Jessica is not going to blab her mouth about making out with you after only knowing you for four days. She's going to keep her distance because she's scared, and because you and I will turn up together from now on."

I got dressed and wrapped my shirt around her small shoulders. Her clothes had not survived my attack. My face must still have been registering scepticism at my ability to stay with the family, at which she shook her head. "Do you honestly think that that was the first slip-up in our arrangement?" She frowned at my shirt which was going almost to her knees. "You're going to have to do something about your dress-sense, though, or no one is going to believe I'm with you."

I swallowed. "Alice, I love someone else…" I did not want to go into detail, not sure what would happen if this high-strung vampire found out I loved a human, but she interrupted me again.

"I know. Jasper, as long as you stay with us, I'm fine with that."

"I'm not going to play your boyfriend to the family."

She shrugged. "No problem. I can deal with that." With that she took off for the house at top speed, and I followed, hoping I'd still have a chance at a life with the Cullens. I was sure now that Alice had some kind of hidden agenda she was not telling anyone, and that that was what made her so eager to keep me with her – not a confidence-inspiring prospect, but as Bella would be arriving on Wednesday, there was not a lot I could do about it if she wasn't willing to be frank.

Emmett was grinning broadly when we came into the house together, and Esme too seemed quite elated by what she supposed to have happened. Edward and Rosalie were still sceptical and Carlisle asked me into his study for a talk.

Alice came along and talked Carlisle into giving me a second chance easily. Apparently he is as susceptible to her charm as all the other males in the family, and I have to admit that I'm affected by that as well. Caught between revealing my human mate and endangering her or feigning to have feelings for the woman I had been making love to for the past two hours, I took the easy way out, hoping to be able to set the record straight at some point in the near future.

What still had me very uneasy though was the thought that I still did not know how much about my future plans Alice knew, and how much she was prepared to do to get them to agree with hers.

_**reviews make me update faster…**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**tada! Some Jasper/Bella interaction. I hope most of you are still with me and have not abandoned this story because of the last chapter – like I said, I need the events. This one will be a little lighter **___

_**twilight does not belong to me**_

6

Bella's POV

I'm still not sure if the idea of moving up to Washington State to live with my dad was the right choice. Of course I meant what I said when I offered to do that to Renee. I didn't want to cause any trouble in her new marriage, when she seemed so happy, but now I'm stuck with having to start again in a new environment, at a new school in the middle of the school year, not the easiest thing to do with a personality like mine. Yes, I'm definitely not the all go out and be friendly girl from the Southwest, who makes friends easily by going to all the parties and games. I really can't be bothered about the games – I don't understand what's going on most of the time anyway – and I never know what to say to people at parties. Usually I end up standing around awkwardly, feeling out of place. Maybe that should be the headline to my life: the girl who's out of place everywhere.

At least one person will be happy with my move: Charlie was over the moon when we arranged the whole thing over Christmas. He must have been quite lonely, living alone and working the long hours of the Chief of Police in a small town. When he came to pick me up at the airport, he was all wired and talked non-stop about all the things he had been arranging to make me feel comfortable – a very strange thing for him to do, usually he is as quiet as I am. He has even gone out and got a car for me, ok, a truck, which is older than him. We are confident it will run quite reliably though, because Jacob Black overhauled the motor completely, and he is said to have a lot of experience with cars.

Charlie has really outdone himself with my room, which he prepared, he even got me a computer with a modem for the internet and thought of getting new bedclothes – Mickey and Minnie are no longer appropriate – and a reading lamp. Unpacking was quickly done, a good thing, because I needed the sleep. The last night in Phoenix I was far too nervous to get any, and I really did not want to drop off on my desk on the first day.

The school is rather small, and I think that pretty much everybody knows everybody else here and has done so for generations. I could get most of my old courses, and spent the first day organising stuff and with a form that had to be signed by every teacher – as if I needed any more reminders that I was the new girl. From the teachers as well as from some students' reactions I could tell that I had been the talk of the month, so Charlie must have been telling everyone that his daughter was coming to stay.

Some teachers made me stand in front of the class to tell everyone about myself, a horrible tradition, I must have been red like a tomato; others just were ok with signing the slip of paper.

At least I'm not the only new student. About a week ago another junior transferred here, but he is the twin brother of one of the senior girls, so he already has family here. Why he's in Junior year when his sister's a Senior, I don't know, but I'm sure I'll find out. I sit with him in most classes.

Jasper Hale is his name, and he is really tall and lean, with shiny blond curls that keep falling into his dark eyes just begging you to push them out. He is definitely handsome in a cool way, dresses in Cowboy boots, jeans and loose shirts over T's that hug his well-muscled body. Only his nerd glasses seem a little jarring to the picture. Yeah, that and his attitude. After he had introduced himself, he kept staring at me and edged close enough to almost sit on my seat, but he doesn't talk to me at all, and shows off in every class – ugh!

Other than him, everyone is very open and welcoming, and I already know several other students who also took me along to lunch: Jessica, Angela, Mike and Eric. Jasper went to sit with his sister at a separate table. When I turned to look, I was stunned at first by the group of people who had gathered there: they were all extraordinarily beautiful and all very pale. Two of them had been in some of my classes; the others must be his sister and her boyfriend.

"You're checking out the Cullens?" Jessica had followed my eyes, and it was obvious she wanted to talk about them.

"Yes, I was wondering how…"

She didn't let me finish. "Yeah, they are all quite hot, aren't they? And they are all really strange, usually stay by themselves, hardly talk to anyone."

"Why is Jasper's last name Hale if he is their brother?" I wondered and bit my lip. I didn't want to seem a gossip, but something about him had made me interested.

"Oh, they are all adopted. Dr. Cullen and his wife are quite young, and they have been adopting teenagers, apparently troubled ones, too", she gave me a 'I know a lot more than I let on' look. "Jasper was the last to arrive, he is that blond bombshell's twin, only he wasn't in school last year, so he is with us now, like Edward – the red-haired arrogant one – and Alice, who is a few dollars short of a dime, if you get me. She was almost inseparable from Edward all year but has been hanging around with Jasper the last few days. The big one is Emmett Cullen, and he is with Rosalie, really with her, living with her, too."

"Oh", I said, not knowing which reaction was required.

"I think it's really nice of the doctor and his wife to give a home to the teenagers", Angela said. "and even if they come from difficult backgrounds, they have certainly been very lucky to end up with the Cullens. They are all quite good at school, too, and very polite, especially Edward." She hid a blush.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, very polite. The way he's looking at me, he wants to rip my head off most of the time, and I wouldn't trust that pixie with a pencil."

I could see Mike whispering something to another boy who had sat down at our table – boy talk, and I was sure it was about the Cullen girls, who were model pretty and made every girl feel inferior.

By that time the lunch break was over, and we had to return to class. I checked my schedule and found that Biology was next for me. Mike led me to the science building and I handed my paper to Mr Banner to sign, which he did without asking me to introduce myself – hooray – and then slipped into the only free seat left in class, the one next to Edward Cullen.

He had been in some of my other classes as well, though usually there he quietly sat in the back with his sister Alice. Now I got into my seat and waited for the lesson to begin, when a gust of wind came into the room. Edward turned to me and looked at me with hateful eyes briefly before turning away again. I was shocked by his aggression, and I wondered what the matter was, but for the rest of the lesson he did not look at me again. He seemed extraordinarily tense and left the room even before the bell had finished ringing.

I was angry and hurt. He had acted as if I smelt bad, and I was sure I had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. Great. Were they all deranged? I shook myself and went to the next lesson: gym. Excellent! My school in Phoenix would not have required me to take gym classes all through High School, but Forks did. Well, they would see what they would get out of that! I thought grimly as I put on the clothes the teacher had found for me. Volley ball, wonderful, just give me a missile to create havoc!

Mike Newton and Jessica, who were in that class as well helped me along, and basically tried to cover for me when they found out that Bella and a ball were not compatible, but Jasper was there as well, keeping close to me again with a determined face. I don't know what he wanted, when he wasn't talking to me and just kept getting into everybody's way. I was quite thankful to Mike and Jessica for helping me, but suddenly a ball hit Mike in the head quite hard, and I would swear that it had been Jasper who hit the ball toward him, only that would mean that he was some kind of wizard at billiards and did not really need his glasses, because the ball came from the opposite side of the hall. Anyway, I was rather glad I could leave after that first adventurous day.

I was halfway to my truck when I realised I had forgotten to hand back the form. I considered going back to the office, but decided against it. No, I was going home now, I could hand it in tomorrow. When I arrived at my truck, the door to the driver's seat was held open for me. I blinked and raised my head only to look straight into Jasper's face. Once again I registered just how beautiful he was, and suddenly all I wanted to do was being in his arms and being kissed by him. Huh? What was going on with me? I was going weak in the knees about that… macho pain in the ass and I didn't even like the guy!

"You shouldn't leave your car unlocked, Ma'am", he said in that quiet husky voice of his, and I felt as if the needle had just been scratched across the record.

"And that is your business exactly why?" I hissed at him. Then I slammed the door shut and turned. Now I was going back to the office, and hopefully by the time I returned he would be gone!

At the office I had to wait for a bit. Edward Cullen was talking to the secretary in a velvety voice. Angela was right, he seemed much nicer than his brother – at least to other people. After a while I caught on to what he was trying to do however and listened wide-eyed to him trying to change his Biology course. When he became aware of me, he gave me another hateful stare and rushed out with "I'll just have to bear it then" gritted from between his teeth. I was dumbstruck, and when they asked me what I wanted I just slammed the form on the counter and left before anyone could notice the tears that had started welling up in my eyes at this repeated confrontation. Why do I have to tear up every time 'm angry?

Luckily by the time I got to my truck, the Cullens had all gone. I drove home in a bad mood, which I could not seem to shake, then set out again to get some food and for the rest of the evening cooked furiously. Checking the cupboard this morning had told me that that was the only way to get something decent to eat at this place. Right after dinner I excused myself with homework and went to my room to sulk. Ok, I had not been Ms Popularity in Phoenix, but at least I didn't have a strange follower there or someone who thought I was worse than a cockroach.

In my last waking moments I resolved to confront Edward tomorrow and ask him what his problem was. Hmpf! Let's see what he had to say for himself. As for Jasper, I decided to put him in his place if he got into my personal space again or ask someone to change their seat with me. Maybe Mike would do that. Right! I was not going to be bullied around here!

Jasper's POV

Oh god, that was one complication I had never even thought of. I had talked Carlisle into letting me go back to school, he said he would find a way to spread a rumour about me so that I would no longer be bothered, and Alice had taken to appearing hand in hand with me, to get rid of Jessica and co. The ruse had worked so far, and I felt quite confident about this important week – my mate was coming to school on Wednesday.

Bella looked simply breathtaking. The moist air made her hair curl a little and I loved the way she held herself when I knew she must be trembling with her shyness in a new environment alone. Well, she would not be alone for much longer, she would be my mate and we would have forever together.

And I?

Finally Bella had come to school, she was sitting right next to me for the better part of the day, and what did I do? NOTHING!

I introduced myself to her politely and then realised with a bang that I had no idea of how to talk to her. I was completely clueless how to flirt with a girl in High School, and not in a shady bar where I was looking for prey. Of course I knew almost everything about her, but I could hardly start talking her favourite book in history lesson, much less explain how I came to know so much about a stranger. She is not the girl for small talk either, so I ended up being absolutely tongue-tied and looking an utter fool. I know she is intelligent, so I tired to impress her by showing off my cleverness, but that did not work out so well I think. To top it off, as soon as she was next to me, my body reacted in a most vampire-ish way: I wanted to be close to her, touch her and make her mine right now, and I'm pretty sure she must have caught something of that too, because she seemed wary of me. Alice did not ask me what was going on, though I'm sure I slipped somewhere along the way, and Edward gave me a puzzled look at lunch, asking why I was reacting to the new girl like all guys at school. Before I could think of an answer though, he was distracted by something, and left for his Biology lesson. All the guys? What? I listened in to the boys' feelings for a bit and suddenly felt Alice's hand on mine and saw Rosalie and Emmett looking at me with worried expressions. "Shh, it's ok, you won't hurt anyone, calm down!" I tried, but I swear if one of these boys touches her, I will hurt him.

I went to Spanish with Alice, begrudging my brother the hour spent with my mate, even though she was probably quite happy to be rid of me for once. Something must have gone wrong there as well, because when she was back with me for gym, she was visibly upset, and I tried to send her some comfort and stayed close to her again. She did not look like talking though, and I found several people were trying to make her feel better by covering for her clumsiness. After I felt the waves of lust running off Newton however I snapped and let him have it. I hope his head hurts! He should be glad he still has one! How dare he feel about Bella like that?

That last confrontation left me shaken, and before I realised what I was doing I was at Bella's truck. She had left it unlocked – careless! – and I did what I was raised to do, I held the door for her. Apparently that was the last straw for her, and she left in a huff. By that time I could already feel my new family's eyes on me, burning with questions, so I gave up for today. Hopefully by tomorrow I have worked out a better strategy to make her fall in love with me. I know I have to calm down for that and act more human, but it's hard to do that when half the people around are lusting after the girl you love. I have to find a way to fight this animalistic side of me, or she will never look at me twice.

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	8. Chapter 8

_**HI everybody! Thanks for all the reviews and adds, you're wonderful. **__**There will be more of Peter and Charlotte in the next chapter, you're absolutely right, they are sorely needed here.**_

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

7

Jasper's POV

I had expected everybody to go at me for talking to a human so soon after I had slipped, but before Rosalie could say anything, Alice's sharp gasp for breath stopped her in her tracks.

"You can't do that. You're just going to be miserable if you go, and it will solve absolutely nothing", she told Edward, who, as I noticed then, had been extremely tense, and desperation was rolling off him in waves.

"I don't care. I'm not giving in to the monster, and if leaving is what it takes, then I will leave."

"Could you enlighten us to what is going on?" Emmett said looking from one to the other in synch with the rest of us.

"The new girl, I…" Edward stopped and pressed his lips together.

"He is scared he will hurt her, so he wants to leave right now", Alice said. "You won't hurt her, I don't see anything like that."

My instincts went into overdrive. No, Edward was definitely not hurting Bella, he wouldn't even get near her. I felt bloodlust coming from him. Oh no, you're not getting your teeth into my mate. I started growling menacingly.

"I'm sorry, Jasper", Edward apologised at once and turned to Alice. "See: I have to leave or my bloodlust will set Jasper off again."

We had by now reached the house, and Edward was off to Carlisle's room in seconds, only to return with the key to Carlisle's Mercedes, which we saw racing down the driveway the next moment.

Alice growled in frustration and took Rosalie off to shop in Seattle for the rest of the day.

I couldn't believe my luck. I had been sure my cover had been completely blown, but Edward's problem had solved the dilemma momentarily. However, I would need to make sure that he was not coming back that night to eat Bella. If she was his singer, it would take a lot for his resolve to hold out against his instincts, and I was not taking the risk of her being hurt.

One hour after school I set out again to keep watch near Bella's house. I knew it was creepy to be stalking her such, but for now there was no other way I could keep her safe, and I have to admit I enjoyed watching her, always looking forward to a time when I could do that at my leisure with her knowing. I was planning to do some research on how to go about getting close to Bella without being as awkward as I had been and must have been quite distracted, because Charlotte managed to sneak up on me. She let me know they had decided to keep lose contact by staying in Seattle for a while, and I was not to worry about them. Shamefacedly I explained my problem, and angel that she is she gave me some ideas and even promised not to tell Peter just how much of an idiot I was making myself. I really couldn't take have him making fun of me right now.

Bella's POV

The next few days at school were weird. Jasper's behaviour kept changing from super polite and friendly to grumpy or intense stares. He seemed downright possessive when I was talking to other students, but at least he kept his distance and stopped showing off his superior intellect. From what he notes down as well as from working with him in assignments, I could get that he is really bright and has knowledge far beyond his age – apparently he also likes to read, which is something new for me to encounter in a guy. What I don't understand is how he can look like he does and be an absolute failure at sports like me. He seems quite fast and moves very smoothly, with a cat-like elegance, but apparently catching a ball does not work for him either. It might have to do with his glasses, though they don't appear to be that thick… hm, strange. Heehee, thinking of cats, that is the impression I get of him, I would not be surprised at all if he started growling or purring when stroked. Bella, get real!

Edward has not been in school at all the last few days; Jasper said he thought he caught some kind of bug. Well, maybe that was responsible for his bad mood on Wednesday.

"If I were you I'd be careful with Hale", Mike said to me in Gym on Friday.

"Huh?" I looked his way and accidentally catapulted the ball in the direction of the back of the coach's head. I ducked, getting ready for my dressing down when the missile hit, but in the last second Jasper caught the ball with one hand and threw it back in our direction. Oops, how did he do that suddenly? I looked over to him thankfully, but he smiled back sheepishly and shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked Mike.

"Well, it's only that … Jessica went out with him last week, then this week he turned up very close with his 'sister' Alice, and now he looks like he wants to snare you." Mike blushed.

Oh, I hadn't noticed there was something going on with his adoptive sister, somehow I that idea had not occurred to me at all, but now that Mike mentioned it, I remembered that I had been told he had been holding hands with her earlier. Hey, why was that bothering me anyway? Guys like that never looked at me twice, and Alice was so much prettier than every girl in our year. Luckily I didn't have to say anything to Mike because the bell signalled the end of the lesson, and I was in a hurry to go shopping again. I planned to make some pie for the weekend and had to get the ingredients.

There was a long line at the checkout and by the time I got back, the Cruiser was parked in the driveway. Charlie had returned from work early for a change; that was nice.

"Hi, I'm back", I called out, carrying my purchases to the kitchen.

"So am I", he chuckled back from the living room. In the background I could hear the sounds of a baseball game. Ah, that was the reason for the early return. "Bells?"

"Yes?" I popped my head around the doorframe.

"You had a phone call a minute ago, a boy from your school; he said he'd call back later." I could hear his curiosity, which was matched by mine.

"Who was it?"

"A Jack or Jasper – are boys really called that today? I thought that name went out of fashion with my granddad." Charlie had by now ambled into the kitchen. "Starting to break hearts already, Bells?" Anxiety underlying the light tone. Charlie was scared I would grow up too quickly.

I laughed. "No, don't worry, dad. I don't know what he wants either, must…" I was interrupted by the phone. "I get it." I dashed to the hall and picked up. What could Jasper possibly want from me? "Swan?"

"Bella, hi, it's Jasper. I just found out why my bookbag seemed to weigh a ton. I must have packed your Calculus book by accident, as well as that strange novel we're reading in English."

Accident? My foot. Kleptomaniac much? "Aha?"

Jasper had already talked on. "I know it sounds strange, but when it comes to books, I have a tendency to grab what I can get. Now I'm wondering, when would be a good time to return my loot to you?" His voice sounded silky and I found my attention wandering. What was that guy doing to me?

"Bella? Are you still there?"

"Yes, sorry. Well, I'm going to need them for homework this weekend."

"I know. Will you be in tomorrow? Maybe we could do it together; it would be more fun than on my own or having to ask my sister." Same silky voice.

Like he would have to ask his sister, he could probably do homework with his eyes closed. But he was right, it would be nicer to work together. "We could do that. Do you want to come round at three?"

"Three sounds fine. I'll see you then. Bye." He hung up.

I shook my head and went back to the kitchen to start dinner.

"What did he want then?" Charlie asked later beaming at the food.

When I explained, he nodded. "Sounds ok. They are all quite nice, the Cullen kids, very polite and well-behaved. I have to admit that I was sceptical when they moved here with lots of adopted teenagers, but they have been no trouble at all so far."

"That's good. Why would a young couple adopt so many teenagers?" I made use of Charlie in a talking mood to satisfy my curiosity about the Cullens.

He scratched his chest. "I think they can't have children themselves, and I heard the three Cullen siblings are related to him, kids of an elder brother or something."

"That makes sense."

"Mm, and I think we're damn lucky that Mrs Cullen wanted to live in a small town. I bet the doctor could get work in one of those big hospitals in no time."

"Why do you sound so angry?" I wondered at his aggressive tone.

"Ah, you know, people talk, nothing to worry about, Bells. I had planned to be out fishing with Harry and Billy tomorrow by the way, but I can cancel that…"

"Hey, I don't mind being on my own, and I've got all that homework, too. You go out and have fun."

"Thanks, ah, and hey, visiting the Blacks on Sunday is still on, right?"

"Yep, I'm making pie. Got to do something for Jake after he got the truck ready for me."

He shook his head. "I thought you didn't want to start breaking hearts."

"Wait until you've tasted it, maybe I'm just out to poison your friends."

"Don't think so", he chuckled and retreated to his game.

I cleared the table and then went upstairs to email Renee. She had been sending several mails already and I wanted to prevent her from calling Charlie about my whereabouts.

Later, when I came into my room after getting ready for bed, I saw a man outside our house, looking up at my window. I would not have seen him had I not left the light out, but this way I saw his tall silhouette outlined against the surrounding dark. A minute later he was joined by another smaller figure. I thought about calling Charlie, but the next time I looked they were gone, so I settled for slamming my window shut rather noisily and going to bed.

Charlie was already gone when I woke the next morning. I dawdled around a little, reading during breakfast, but then got my act together. I washed several loads and cleaned the bathroom before I started my pie-baking effort.

When Jasper rang the bell at three sharp I had just gotten the pastry out of the oven and was righteously tired of chores.

"Hi", Jasper smiled at me and pushed himself off the banister on which he had been leaning. He looked as if he had just stepped out of a photo-shoot, a sky-blue t-shirt hugging his body, low-hanging black jeans and the ever-present boots.

I in contrast was all hot and probably sweaty from the heat of the oven and my exertions before, my hair in an untidy bun. I sighed, well, he'd have to deal with that. I could never match him for beauty anyhow. Or Alice, I added in an afterthought. I was just hoping that he did not notice my admiring stare. "Hi, come on in", I held the door for him.

He followed me into the living room and held out my books. "Sorry, again. I brought you some chocolate", he placed a bar of my favourite – and expensive – chocolate on top of the books, "compensation for my theft." He smiled widely.

"Hmm, thanks, I love that." I had left my bookbag downstairs, and now got us settled at the dining table.

We worked conscientiously and were done with the homework after two hours. He had been right, doing this together was not only more fun than working alone but also far more efficient, especially because Jasper was absolutely charming and it turned out he had a great sense of humour as well as a talent for explaining stuff.

"Right, that's it", I said in the end. "We're finished, a whole weekend free." I closed my folder with a satisfied smile.

"What is that heavenly smell?" Jasper asked.

"Pie, I made some for tomorrow. Do you want a slice?" I suddenly realised that my hostess skills were sadly lacking and got up quickly.

He looked …scared suddenly and declined quickly. "No thank you, I really can't have any, allergy, you know." I must have been mistaken about the scared face, because he was grinning widely again. "That explains some things, though."

"Like what?" I frowned.

His grin became even wider. "Like you having flour on the tip of your nose and on your forehead."

"Hey", I exclaimed embarrassedly. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I scrubbed it away furiously, shaking my head. Why did stuff like that always happen to me? Was there even a remote possibility I would ever walk through life with poise and elegance? Obviously not.

He shrugged and came closer to me. "You looked absolutely adorable this way." He was next to me, so close that I could feel his cool breath, and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. "But you always look beautiful to me, darlin'."

He looked at me longingly, and my heart skipped a beat, then started racing furiously. I was suddenly very aware of being alone with Jasper, who was not so much a boy but a man, and felt myself wishing he would touch me or kiss me at once. With a swift motion he put his hands on either side of my face and bent down to kiss me. My brain switched off, and my hands went round his neck and into his hair automatically and pulled him closer to me. I felt like hot wax, my body moulded against him, yearning for him to get even closer. Suddenly he growled and I found myself on the sofa with Jasper's body pressing down on me. He was grinding against me in an unmistakable movement, still making that odd growling sound.

"Jasper?" I asked shyly.

"Yes, darlin'?" moaned. His hands started wandering underneath my shirt.

"Jasper, stop. I… stop at once!" I tried pushing him off. No luck, I might as well have pushed a stone wall. Now I was scared. "No, Jasper, please! Stop!"

The next second he was at the opposite end of the room. I blinked. "How did you just do that?"

Jasper ignored my question. He looked absolutely contrite. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I should never have… That was out of line. Can you forgive me?"

I didn't really hear him. I was confused and ashamed. Had I done something wrong? Had I led him on? I was not really experienced in things like that. Hell, I had never even had a boyfriend before, but I was pretty sure things were not meant to go that fast.

He came closer again slowly, but I scuttled back on the sofa and pulled my legs up against my body. He flinched. "Darlin', I never meant to scare you."

"Can you leave now?" I asked in a small voice. I was shaking, nerves, I knew, but I wanted to be alone.

"Please believe me, I did not want to hurt you, Bella, I just got carried away when we kissed." His eyes were pleading with me to let him stay, but I could not do that.

"Mm, I want to be alone, my dad is going to come in ten minutes anyway", I lied, and Jasper got his things and left.

I waited until my heart had slowed down to its normal rate, then rushed upstairs and threw myself onto my bed. I started crying, not because I was sad, but because I needed to relieve the tension and confusion about what had happened downstairs. How was I going to face him on Monday? What I really needed was a good friend, but I hadn't found one here yet. In Phoenix my mom had been my best friend, but I was quite sure I did not want to talk to her about it, which left me nowhere.

In the end I had a hot bath and went to bed early. Just before I dropped off to sleep, I realised a strange thing: when Jasper had come in this afternoon, his eyes had been golden, not black, like at school. Later they had become really dark again. Curious!

_**While I certainly like the reviews and adds, and they always make me update faster, there is a limit to my output now that I've started working again. I will however try to go as fast as possible. **___


	9. Chapter 9

…_**and here is the next instalment designed to brighten your weekend **___

_**Thanks for all the reviews and adds – I'm thrilled by your reactions. Some people keep asking about Alice's agenda. I have to ask you for a little patience there, I need some more chapters for that.**_

_**Twilight belongs to SM**_

8

Charlotte's POV

We were really worried. We arrived in Washington State on Wednesday, but stayed in Seattle most of the time, not happy to just crash in on Jasper and his new family until he had told them about us. As we had not been able to reach him personally for three days, and he had only written back brief and cryptic messages since the debacle on Friday, Peter was all jumpy, sure some major catastrophe was about to unfold, and after two hours he had worn me down to running to Forks and check on Bella at least. I convinced him to stay in the city and feed – when will he learn to feed before a flight? – and ran on my own. I found Jasper outside the Swan house in a major panic and managed to calm him down, poor darling, and then ran back to start working on his problem.

Peter was a bit surprised when I turned up at our hotel room with an armful of rented High School Movies, but was game enough to watch them with me once I had assured him that Jasper was just fine. After the third movie, he raised an eyebrow and said. "He's making a pig's breakfast of the whole thing, isn't he?"

"You didn't hear that from me."

"I'll call him right away."

"No, I think that's the last thing he needs. Help me with suggestions, why don't you?"

"How the hell should I know how to flirt with 21st century High School girls?" He snorted throwing his arms in the air, and I grinned. "See?"

"Alright", he grumbled, starting to snuggle up to me, "besides, what would be the point?"

I slapped his hands away. "Pete, Jasper needs help. Rev up your outsized male brain!"

"You're a hard woman, you know that?" Big eyes and a crooked Texan smile.

I sighed. "Later. Work first!"

The next day we sent him a long text message with our suggestions, and he called us Friday night in a jubilant mood, saying it had worked, everything was planned out, and he had it all under control.

Fine, we thought and planned our weekend in Seattle. It was lovely, and on Sunday we were just standing in line for tickets to a concert, when Peter tensed and then pulled me along at a speed that was definitely not inconspicuous. "Hey!" I protested when he hot-wired a car, pushed me inside and took off in the direction of the ferry at top speed. "What's going on?"

"Not sure, but things are not going like he wants, we better be close."

Jasper's POV

Damn it, damn this whole existence which has made me into a creature that cannot control itself! Everything was so natural and human; we were sitting together and talking, exchanging thoughts and ideas, just like it should be. Then I finally got enough courage to try and get close to her, and I felt no opposition at all, she was just as interested in getting closer to me as I was. Ok, I had felt something already when I had come in earlier, but had not been sure then. Now, however it was indisputable, she wanted me to kiss her, after all, she should feel something of the mating pull, too. I could have kissed her forever, I was about to tell her there and then what I was and what I wanted from her, when her feelings pushed me over the edge and I lost it. Suddenly all I felt from her was panic, shame and the need to push me away. When she flinched away from me, her huge eyes wide with fear, I realised just how big a mistake I had made. She waved away all my attempts at explaining and apologising, saying she wanted to be alone, but I knew that she just didn't want me there. Much as it hurt to leave, it hurt less than have her scared of me like that.

When I got to my car, Alice was waiting for me on the passenger seat with a concerned expression. I got in without commenting on her presence and started the car in silence. She reached out and placed her hand on mine, but I jerked away. "No, Alice, I need to be alone."

"Jasper, you can't do that. You put all of us in danger. Do you want that?"

"Keep out of this." I took the car off as fast as it would go.

"And you definitely need to keep your cell phone switched on. How am I supposed to warn you if you're incommunicado?" She sounded quite pissed at me for the first time I had met her, and I pulled over to look at her.

"What do you want?" I asked tiredly.

"You need to stay away from Bella, you are going to hurt her, and she's the Chief's daughter. Don't you understand that?"

"I can't stay away from her." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "I love her."

"I don't think so, and I don't think she feels the same", Alice said lightly. "Besides, I really can't see what's so special about her that she attracts all that attention."

"Stay out of this!" I hissed.

"Will you stay away from her? You can't go off and start dating human girls here."

"Don't tell me what to do. Bella is mine." It came out as a growl, and I realised that the Major had taken over once again. "Get out, now!" I needed her away from me or she would suffer.

Alice shrugged her tiny shoulders. "You leave me no choice then." She left the car and skipped away into the forest.

I hit the steering wheel in frustration, then took off toward Olympia. I felt as if I needed air desperately when I had not been breathing for more than 150 years now.

I was just about to give in to my instincts and feed on a human, when thoughts of how that would disappoint Esme and Carlisle stopped me. So I hunted down a herd of moose and returned to Forks by morning. After stopping at the house to clean up and change, I set out for Bella's house again, where I frowned at the sight of Edward's Volvo parked in the street. I was just about to storm down the house, when I heard them.

"Major", a hiss came from the trees next to the house, and after a quick scuffle with my friend (I thought Edward was at the house) I joined Peter and Charlotte, who were awaiting me. "Calm down, she's fine."

"What are you doing here?"

"Peter thought you needed us", Charlotte said, checking my face with a worried expression. "Oh, the eyes look lovely."

I gave her a pained look. "Yeah, Bella is just about licking her fingers for me."

"What happened?" Peter asked. I told them, then asked how long they had been here.

"We came just when the blond vampire got out of the car over there and was let inside by her father."

Carlisle was here? "Any idea what Carlisle is doing there? Did he bring his bag?" Panic at once. Was something wrong with Bella? Humans could get so many diseases, they were so fragile, and Bella in particular had been at the emergency room so often in the past few years that I assumed at once she had been injured.

"That is the doctor?" Peter asked.

"Yes, is there something wrong with her?" Barely containing myself.

"No, I saw her pottering about in the kitchen when we arrived. She's fine, like I told you."

Kitchen? She could have cut herself or gotten a burn or have fallen or… "I need to help…" Peter pulled me back by the scruff of the neck.

"I told you she's fine. Why don't you trust me without checking everything for once?"

Ok, I had made myself an idiot with Peter too many times to test his abilities yet again. But this was Bella. Ah, I could see her at the window, warming her hand s on a cup of tea. I breathed out. "What else could he be doing there?" I grumbled.

"No idea", they both shook their heads. Of course we could have gone closer and listened, but with Carlisle inside that would have meant he would know we did so, and I did not want to be known as an eavesdropper or have my friends exposed around here yet. I sighed, and we went for a run together.

"What you need is some distraction", Peter diagnosed, and they took me along for a day in Seattle, at the end of which I felt confident enough to try and call Bella, but was told she wasn't available. Well, at least I'd see her in school the next day.

Monday held two surprises for me, none of which were good. I had only come back in time to change for school and get my bookbag, when I saw the Mercedes parked just outside the garage and my siblings waiting for me in the Volvo with Edward at the wheel.

"Hi, you're back", I greeted him warily.

"Yes, Alice was right, it was doing me no good whatsoever", he said in a distant voice.

"What about Bella?" I asked tensely.

"I can do it. I won't harm her, and I probably mistook my impression anyway", he said radiating apprehension and excitement. Aha? I resolved not to let him out of my eyes for the rest of the day.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I could see Bella's truck already parked in her usual space and took a deep unneeded breath. I would sort this out. I would keep her safe, and I would make her mine.

Alice snorted, and I had the impression that Edward growled at me, but could have been mistaken there. We went to the classroom together, and I slipped into my seat next to my beautiful girl and said Hello.

She ignored me and continued to talk to Angela. What?

"Hi, Bella!"

"Jasper." Stated coldly.

"Hey, I tried to call you last night, about my… behaviour on Saturday. I truly am…"

"Just leave me alone, ok?" She said quietly. I couldn't answer because at that moment the teacher came in. For the rest of the morning I did not hear anything, I was completely absorbed trying to take in her feelings. I caught shame and regret, quite a bit of anger and sadness. She was not talking to me, and when I caught her on the way to lunch, I asked. "Bella, what is it? I can tell you're hurt and sad. Is there anything I can do?" I was ready to tear whoever hurt her to pieces right there.

She looked up at me, her brown eyes starting to flood with tears, and for a brief moment I thought she was about to say something, but just then Emmett and Edward came up behind me.

"Jasper, why don't you sit with us?" Emmett asked, while Edward murmured under his breath, too quiet for the humans to hear. "Leave her alone, right now, come along."

There was not much of a choice other than giving in, I realised cursing inwardly.

"You need to stay away from Bella", Alice said after I had sat down with them at our usual table. "Please, you don't want anyone to get hurt, do you, Jasper?"

"Come on, bro, it will get easier, give it a few years", Emmett said encouragingly. So for the rest of lunch break I acted my part in the human charade we put on every school day.

I was tense all through Spanish, knowing that Edward was with Bella, but Alice kept calming me down. "He is not going to hurt her, he has found a way to deal with it, relax!"

As if I could relax, knowing my mate was with a volatile vampire who wanted her blood. As soon as the lesson was over, I tore out of the room and waited nervously for Bella to arrive for Gym. When she did, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, before I realised, she was not alone: Edward was with her, and they were chatting amiably.

What the f…?

During Gym it became plain that she was once more ignoring me. She talked to Mike and Jessica, but cold-shouldered me completely. I was on edge so much that I must have started projecting, I could feel the whole group tensing up, and relief flooded everyone when the bell rang and signalled the end of the school day.

I dumped my bag in the car and told the others I would meet them later. I needed to talk to Bella. Alice gave me a pained look and shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Edward was about to try and stop me, but Alice shook her head at him, and he drove off.

I rang the bell at the Swan house ten minutes after Bella had gotten in. No answer at first and I was about to leave when I sensed her coming down the stairs, so I waited. She stood inside for a while, deliberating whether to open the door and finally opened up. "Yes?"

"Bella, why don't you let me explain…?"

"My dad says I should not meet you anymore." She bit her lip, and I felt regret and confusion from her.

"What? Why?"

"I think you know; he's not happy about your past, neither am I."

"What past?" I was lost momentarily. What could Chief Swan have found out about that? Then it clicked. Of course, the story the Cullens had cooked up to ensure I was left alone. The one about me having been in jail in the past year and being on parole. "Oh."

"Yes, oh", she said. Her face looked sad though, and I thought that maybe she had feelings for me other than contempt and anger. She had kissed me back after all, she had liked me.

I put all the love I had for her into my look and said. "Bella, it's all lies, don't believe that. I want to be with you, and I would never hurt you."

"So you didn't kill anyone?" She looked up at me through her lashes, and she had me. I could not lie to her, but I could not tell her the truth either.

"It's not like you think", I started lamely.

"Aha, then explain how it is!" A flicker of hope.

"Let me come in."

"No, Jasper." She closed the door on me with a sigh. I could tell she was standing right behind it, I knew she was sad, but she was not going against the clear orders of her father, and who would after what they had heard about me and my performance on Saturday? What choice did I have? Explain to her that I was a vampire who was mated to her and wanted to change her for eternity? Not likely to change her mind about me being a dangerous deranged criminal. Lie my head off? Very likely that she and her father would believe my word rather than the word of the respected hospital doctor.

I left.


	10. Chapter 10

_**I know you want Jasper and Bella together ASAP, but as I have decided to take things a little slower with thi**__**s story, you might have to wait some more…**_

_**have fun with my little Sunday treat, and don't forget to review **___

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

9

Bella's POV

It hurt to shut the door on Jasper, especially when he was looking like that. On the other hand I knew that every time he was with me, my rational side seemed to shut off, and I became a bundle of feelings I could not explain to myself. Now with what I had heard about him, I was sure – rationally - that it was a good idea to stay away from him. I had unintentionally listened in to Carlisle on Sunday and Charlie had been quite adamant about it. "Jasper has been in juvenile jail, Bella, he has problems with anger management, the doc said, meaning he can't control his actions, and I don't want you alone with a young man who has spent the last two years away from all women. Am I making myself clear?"

So I had agreed not to spend time with him, Charlie's argument made sense after all, and I had Jasper's actions on Saturday if I needed further proof that what he wanted from me above all was sex. However, I kept thinking back to the time we spent together, all the laughter and talk, the way his smile made me feel and how I just wanted to run my hands through his hair. Did he really hurt someone so badly? Could I ask him about that? Not really. But what if he wanted to make a fresh start and we were all treating him like a pariah? That would not make him wish to be nice to people, would it?

And what the hell is going on between him and Alice? Mike said they used to come to school holding hands before I arrived, and I have noticed that when we aren't in class, Alice is almost inseparable from Jasper, sitting close to him and touching him casually like they know each other really well. Hm, so he shouldn't actually be in need of 'female attention', not with someone so beautiful hanging on to him. Somehow though I have the feeling that he does not want her near me or that there is trouble in that relationship.

I was lost. When his brothers stopped him from talking to me during lunch on Monday however, I thought that they must have a reason for it. If even they did not trust him, that did not throw too good a light on him.

Ah, on Monday Edward turned up again, and another thing started. He was really friendly in Biology, apologised for his bad behaviour the week before, for which he blamed a sickness and turned all charm and politeness, just like Angela described him. He even walked me to Gym. Strange. Then for the rest of the week he was all nice and friendly too. He continued his amiable behaviour and even sat with me during lunch the next Thursday, though he did not eat much. I felt the eyes of the rest of his family in my back for the first two minutes, then Jasper pulled out one of the other chairs at the table and plonked himself down with unnecessary noise. "Hi!" He said, and narrowed his eyes at Edward. He was wearing all black today, and he would definitely look the part of the bad guy if it weren't for his lovely curls. He had been all broody and silent the last few days, though he still stayed close to me in every class we had together. I could not help but smile at him and was rewarded by one of his crooked smiles and a husky "Hello Bella."

Then however a staring war between the two began and I felt very uncomfortable in the middle. They did not say anything, but you could almost touch the tension. Finally I just got up and excused myself with having to check something in the library and left them to it.

I shuddered when I got out of the cafeteria, the atmosphere had been extremely threatening, menacing even, and it was plain that others had caught up on that as well. When I got the next classroom, Mike and Jessica were already there, as was Angela. "Are you all right, Bella?" She asked at once in a concerned voice. When I nodded she said. "What was that new guy accusing Edward of?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Mike snorted and Jessica said. "Well, obviously Jasper did not want Edward to rain on his parade with you."

"What are you saying?" I frowned.

"Oh come on", Lauren joined in. "Jasper is after all the girls here, and he doesn't want his brother to interfere." She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, and I had the distinct impression of sour grapes with her.

"No", Jessica contradicted, "I think they are just worried about his erratic behaviour, that's probably why Edward's keeping to your side so much. My dad told me to stay away from Jasper, said he was bad company. Strange family, I've always thought so."

"Freaks", Mike added just when Mr Banner arrived and we could go inside.

That day's lesson was yet another lab session which meant that we were able to talk to each other, especially as Edward and I were usually finished before the rest of the class.

"What was that with your brother at lunch?" I asked. Reasonable question, I thought, after all they had behaved strangely.

"Oh, that, well", Edward obfuscated. Then he took a deep breath. "Bella, you need to stay away from Jasper."

"Aha? Because he is with Alice?" That was another explanation for the behaviour of the Cullen boys toward Jasper, which had come to me in the meantime. Though – really that was not something they should get involved in.

Edward snorted and shook his head. "Jasper is dangerous."

"I thought he was out on parole", I whispered the last few words, not sure how much the other students knew about Jasper's past, but surely the authorities would not release someone from prison who was dangerous. And Jasper did not feel dangerous to me.

Edward's golden eyes were boring into mine. "Please, Bella, do me this one favour. Keep a distance to him, he wants to hurt you."

"You're very cryptic."

Edward's fists were balled suddenly. "This is not exactly easy, you just have to trust me here. I only want to keep you safe."

I was just about to ask him to elaborate on his rather strange accusations, when the bell rang and he took off like a bat out of hell.

I shrugged and decided to put this down to some boys' prank. They probably had some kind of bet on or something. Jasper ditched Gym, so I could not ask him either. Pfft – guys. At least I managed to set up a meeting with Angela for after school, we were going to her place to work on an assignment and have some tea and cookies. At least my social life here is finally getting started.

Edward's POV

Alice reached me in Alaska after I had already made up my mind to return to Forks. I had come to the conclusion that fate had sent me my singer to test my resolve, and that I would deal with temptation and overcome it. Besides, being with the Denalis, especially Tanya, was making me miserable indeed.

"Edward, you need to come home, I have seen it, you are the only one who can protect Bella against Jasper. He is hunting her, he wants to claim her and kill her, you have to do something."

"Have you spoken to Carlisle about that?" I was already in the car. That did not sound good at all.

"Of course I have, and he is obviously going to help, but I need you here, Edward."

"I'm on my way."

"I thought you two were ok after that Friday", I said to her after she had pulled me into her room once I had gotten back. Most of the others were out, so there was no risk of anyone listening.

"We were, you saw us, but since then the new girl has arrived and now he is quite … deranged. He is convinced she is his mate, he stays with her all the time, and he even went to visit her at her home on Saturday. Imagine what could have happened!"

That was really worrying, she was right. I told her about my conclusion, and she confirmed my idea. "You are going to become friends, and you won't harm her. Isn't that great?"

"We'll see." I really like my prophetic sister, but I don't always share her enthusiasm.

Esme and Carlisle were overjoyed I was back, and we spent the rest of the night catching up until it was time to get ready for school. That way I could tell them about my big problem with Isabella Swan, i.e. that I could not hear her. Carlisle has several theories, but I did not confide my very secret own one to him yet. I would rather confirm it first.

The next day at school was given over to my testing the hypothesis I had come up with, so I kept watching Bella at every opportunity, talked to her in Biology, and walked her to gym (I'm not happy with Jasper there on his own, maybe I can do something about that), and I think I'm right. I had always wondered how I could find a mate with my gift so obviously preventing any kind of mystique, which is necessary for an intimate relationship, but now I know: I'm sure I have found her. Bella is just the kind of girl who I would have wanted when I was alive. She is shy, modest, well-read and cares for others more than for herself. Besides, her looks are all I wanted from a woman. I'm sure that with prolonged exposure to her scent, I can minimise the effect it has on me – I have already tried that by staying in her room at night, a little longer every night – and it's working. Of course I have no intention of turning her into a monster – no one could want that for the person they love – I just want a long happy life with her somehow. How I will break the news about my true nature to her is not yet clear to me, but I think as I don't want to touch her, that can wait until she notices I'm not aging.

The only fly in the ointment is Jasper. Alice is right, he is absolutely fixated on the girl and wants to do unspeakable things to her. At least, she does not seem to respond to his attentions and spoke to him quite coolly on Monday. When he announced he was going to her house, I almost stopped him, but Alice convinced me to let him go. He came back in a foul mood just in time to go to school the next morning, but because of my theory-testing I was sure he had been no danger for Bella.

Carlisle and Esme went hunting with Rosalie on the weekend, so Emmett convinced Jasper to show him some fighting tricks. I was interested as well, so I came along. Funny, somehow I had the impression I was not quite welcome there. Jasper is an extraordinary trainer, but I'm still happy Esme was not there to see the spectacle, she always hates it when we do that.

On the way back to the house I tried to reason with Jasper concerning Bella, but he was not at all receptive. "Jasper, you cannot attack the Chief's daughter, you know that. Just stay away from her."

"I can't do that", he answered irritated, and I could see images of him holding Bella and kissing her.

I growled before I could stop myself. Jasper crouched and turned on me. "Don't get in my way, you won't stop me."

"I don't think Bella is much interested in you at the moment, is she?" I said and left him standing. While she and I talked almost daily, she had definitely taken to cold-shouldering him whenever he approached her.

"I said stay out of this", he pressed from between gritted teeth.

"I am not hurting her", I started when I suddenly found myself on the ground with Jasper's burning eyes over me, his hands around my neck.

"Hey, Jasper, stop that", Emmett said good-naturedly and pulled him off with an effort. I decided to settle the matter by heading out to the house ahead of them to see if Carlisle and Esme had already returned.

I know Carlisle told Jasper again to be careful with the humans around, especially with the Chief's daughter, but Jasper just spun him the same yarn about Bella as his mate.

I'm not sure what was said, only that Carlisle was quite confused about his behaviour and made him promise to stay in line.

We never listen to when Carlisle talks to either of us, but at the end of their talk Jasper howled in frustration and took off running again. I wonder what he does all alone out in the woods, but I'm sure we would know if he had started feeding from humans again, the Quileute would have let us know.

The next few days Jasper kept his distance to me and only talked to Esme and Emmett as far as I could tell. He behaved atrociously towards Alice, once even pushed her away when she wanted to comfort him, and I think the only reason he kept up the charade of being her boyfriend at school was because he had promised Carlisle to stay out of trouble.

Things came to a head when I sat with Bella for lunch on Thursday. I thought it was silly to be her friend but never stay with her during the one longer break we got, and calculated that if I ate something small which I could get rid of before the lesson I would be ok.

We had barely sat down when Jasper joined us, radiating rage and jealousy. I told him to move so quietly that Bella couldn't hear it, but might as well have saved my breath.

"_Get the fuck away from my mate!"_ he thought at me, growling under his breath.

I stared him down, and he repeated his order in an even more insolent tone.

I don't react well to orders, especially from people who have just joined our family and should be grateful for our acceptance, so I stood my ground. Bella of course was highly uncomfortable with Jasper's behaviour and like the true lady she is, left the table.

"We're not animals fighting over mates, calm down!" I told him calmly.

In reaction he narrowed his eyes at me and hissed. "Keep your hands off her or you're dead, boy!" and for a fraction of a second I saw images in his head that shook me to the core.

"What the hell are you?" I blurted out loudly, and suddenly he seemed shaken.

"What?" he asked as if I had just woken him up and I heard him counting down from one hundred slowly.

"The things I just saw, what kind of monster are you?" By this time the others had surrounded us to make sure that whatever confrontation was happening here, it was not in full view of the humans around.

Jasper started to leave but Alice put her hand on his arm. "Don't give up now!" He gave her a pained look and took off.

"Alice?" I was nonplussed. What could she know about Jasper and not have told me?

"Later, class will start in a minute. We'll talk at home." She skipped away.

Of course Bella wanted to know what had happened between me and Jasper, and I have to admit that I found it difficult not to tell her that he was a murderous vampire after her blood right there and then. At least I told her that he was dangerous and I firmly hope that she will take my guidance on this matter and not be alone with him anymore. I called Carlisle on the way home and told him we all needed to talk urgently.


	11. Chapter 11

_**thank you for all the reviews and adds **___

_**here is your weekly update, have fun with it. I know this story is unfolding kind of slow, but again, I need the action I'm describing here.**_

_**twilight belongs to SM**_

10

Edward's POV

"Why would you say that?" Emmett wondered once I had clicked my phone shut. "What happened to you and Jasper during lunch?"

"They had another dogfight about the human girl", Rosalie explained in a bored tone. "Don't you think it is a bit reckless, the way you're getting involved with that Bella girl, Edward?"

"Not at all."

"But you're not thinking about changing her, are you?" She sounded alarmed.

"Of course not, I would never do that to anyone who had a choice."

"Ah, good." She was relieved and back to checking her looks in the mirror.

"Right, but that still doesn't explain why you called Carlisle about having a vote about Jasper", Emmett said. So far we had not told our parents much about the conflict about Bella; maybe sometimes we were not really that different from human teenagers when it came to talking to Esme and Carlisle. However…

"I had a glimpse into his head just now, that's why", I said grimly and led the way to the dining room table where Carlisle was waiting already.

"Jasper will be with us in a moment, Esme has just gone to get him. She said he looked a bit down in the mouth and that he returned from school earlier", Carlisle said pinching the bridge of his nose. He had been working long hours at the hospital lately.

"Where are they?" I said in such an alarmed tone that he shot out of his seat in a matter of seconds.

"Carlisle?" Esme asked in a surprised tone from the door. Jasper was following her slowly, his mind carefully blank. By now I was wary of him, I noticed his tense way of walking, his wandering eyes checking for a quick retreat.

"Ah, good, you're all here", Carlisle took a cue from me and pulled out a chair for his wife. "So, what is all this about then, Edward?"

I saw that Jasper was still standing until Alice pulled out a chair for him and told him to sit in a patient voice. I cleared my throat and started. "Jasper, I would like to know what I saw in your head at lunch."

"That is none of your business; if I thought you needed to know that, I would have told you", he returned arrogantly. "Stay out of my head!"

"Boys", Esme pleaded quietly. "I know you had some kind of quarrel at school, but you both feel bad about it and you'll probably feel better if you clear the air between you."

"Edward, I think Jasper's right. You promised us privacy, and if he wants that too, you should respect it", Emmett put in his two cent's worth and Alice nodded.

"Not if it puts all of us in danger. You have no idea of the kind of person he is." I gave back.

"He is hurt and alone", Esme countered. Oh no, another female taken in by his looks. "Why don't you tell us what you saw, Edward?"

Before I could say anything, Carlisle put his hand on her arm. "Jasper, was it something about your past?"

Jasper had the grace to look down at that, and I must say I was quite interested in what he would have to say for himself.

Jasper's POV

How could I lie to Carlisle, who was as kind to me as no one except for my friends, the two friends who had got me out of Maria's clutches had ever been. "Yes", I started looking into his eyes thankfully. "It's about my past… something I want to get away from."

"Jasper was in the Vampire Wars of the South", Carlisle said after checking with me. Then he briefly outlined what they were about and how they were fought. Peter is right, he is extremely well-informed.

"So that's how you learned to fight so well. How did you survive?" Emmett asked interestedly.

I grimaced. "I was fast and strong, and I was saved by friends who had gotten out earlier." I sensed curiosity and the yearning for adventure from this big boy and disillusioned him at once. "It was … no game; it was brutal reality, a nightmare of the worst kind. I never want to go back there again."

"They are still going on?" Rosalie was shocked.

I nodded. "There are small bands still roaming Texas and Mexico I think. They try to stay under the radar of the Volturi, but if you look closely, you see them, not that anyone would want to meet them." We knew Maria was still out there and probably looking for me, too, which was why I needed to stay undercover so much. Neither she nor the Volturi should get a hold of me if I wanted to survive.

"So, you see why I thought that we should give Jasper a chance at finally finding some peace, don't you?" Alice asked brightly.

Esme squeezed Carlisle's hand on the table and gave me a loving look. "Of course, Jasper, you are welcome here. We want you to have a home."

Carlisle nodded as did Rosalie and Emmett, but I had already noticed that Edward had been uncharacteristically quiet and realised why: Obviously all through Carlisle's speech I had been flooded with memories, just as I had been when I answered questions. So if Edward had been listening in, he had the full story. I exchanged a glance with him and saw I was right. Now what? "Thank you, Esme, and know I will not endanger what I have found after such a long time light-heartedly." I nodded to Edward to check if he had understood my threat. He had flinched. Ok, that had worked.

I had told Carlisle about Bella some days ago, but he had not been convinced. He said that he had only ever heard of vampires mating, not a bond with a human. In his experience that usually only came down to a specific kind of thirst, as in the singers etc. He had strongly advised me not to try changing her so soon after switching to the animal diet. Besides he had reminded me of the treaty with the Quileutes regarding any of his coven biting humans. I can see his point, but I'm not about to give up on Bella. I know I love her, and when my throat burns near her, it's not thirst for her blood. Of course I will not endanger Esme and the others, but when it comes to a choice between them and Bella, I know who I will choose. I'm still not sure what Alice wants from me, and it's definitely beginning to make me itchy. She took my part in the conference, and she has been keeping up the pretence of being my girlfriend, but I can feel no love from her, at least not for me.

After the talk Carlisle and Edward went upstairs, and she came and sat on my lap. After a minute I felt a lot of irritation from her. "What is it?" I frowned, trying to get her to move without outright pushing her off me.

"Oh, I'm just tired about all this teenager business. I mean, why should we be interested in who is going out with whom and all that prattle?" It came out as an exasperated stream, as if she had been holding this back for quite some time. "I just want some grown-up parts in my life for a while." She started curling against me in a pretty unambiguous way.

I felt need and desire from her, self-doubt and self-consciousness. Huh? But I would not be drawn in to whatever mess she was in. The situation was bad enough as it was. "Alice, please, I told you I'm in love with…" I whispered under my breath for her alone to hear.

"Alright, alright, yeah, I know, precious Bella", she squeaked and jumped off me. "I really don't know what you or Edward or all the others see in her." She left in a huff, flitted upstairs and banged the door to her own room shut so hard that it kept vibrating for quite a while after.

"What's gotten into her?" Emmett asked shaking his head.

"No idea", I said diplomatically. I am a gentleman after all.

"She just doesn't like all the fuss about that doe-eyed human", Rosalie said coolly, flicking some invisible spot from her immaculate fingernails. "I guess sitting with her in a lot of classes she has to endure quite a lot of that from the human guys. I'm not sure what Edward's really planning with her. I mean, he can't be serious about being her friend, can he?" She flipped her hair across her shoulder and left for the garage.

I had started growling quietly already when I felt Rosalie's contempt for Bella, but had gotten louder when she talked about Edward.

"Hey, bro, take it easy!" Emmett told me. Then he gave me a quizzical look. "You're really into that girl, aren't you?"

"She's the reason I'm here", I said quietly. I felt I could confide in him more than anyone else in the family, except maybe for Esme, but somehow it didn't feel right to talk about another woman with her.

"How long have you been watching her?" Emmett asked. You have to give him credit for being a lot shrewder than he lets on.

I smiled. "A while."

"Oh man, falling for a human. Have you talked to Carlisle about this?"

I sighed and told him what he had said, and he commiserated with me. "But you know he's right in a way. You can't attempt to change her at the moment."

"Is that supposed to help me?" I grumbled, and he shook his head.

"No, of course not, especially with Edward also interested. That is a first by the way."

"Yes, great." I got up. "Care for some hunting?" I had calculated that most likely he would not be, so I could meet Char and Peter.

"No thanks, I'm fine", he turned towards his laptop and I went out.

I could not find my friends at the appointed spot, and when I called Peter later, he was in a very bad mood. "You could not have picked a mate that is any harder to woo, Major, could you? Like a resident of the moon, perhaps?"

"What's happened to you? Why weren't you at the meeting place?" It was not like them to disobey.

"Because the whole forest was crawling with werewolves, that's why! They hunted us almost right back over to Seattle."

"That does not make sense", I answered deep in thought. As far as I was informed the Quileute would only develop the wolf symptom when human drinkers were feeding in the territory, and Char and Peter had been careful not to do that.

"That might be so, but they were still there, four of them, to be precise, and I can tell you it was no fun journey."

"I'll sniff around myself for a little."

"Do that, and if you meet one of them, tell them if they snap at Char again, they end up losing a few limbs." He hung up, and I knew he had been quite shaken. So far no one and nothing had been able to threaten his wife, and he did not like that situation.

Only after our call I realised that I had forgotten to tell them about the new development here, but reasoned that the wolf situation was a definite priority here.

After a while of deliberating I decided to talk to Carlisle about the wolves again tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

…_**and another weekend instalment. The action is picking up now, as you will be happy to know and things will start to become clearer in this and the following chapters.**_

_**Don't forget to review – I like my dose of chocolate from time to time **___

_**twilight still doesn't belong to me *sighs***_

11

Bella's POV

The next day I went to school determined once again not to let thoughts of Jasper distract me. In other words, I made the same decision I had on every day since coming here – fat lot of success that had been so far. Something about him just got to me, and I thought that maybe if I met him under different circumstances… I don't know. I feel drawn to him, and no matter what I hear about him, I only see a man who I want to be with and take care of for the rest of my life. I've even started dreaming about him, and the confrontation between him and Edward kept haunting my dreams so much that I had slept badly and was rather grumpy that morning.

The cold weather did nothing to improve my mood, neither did the fact that I fell over as soon as I left the house. Icy roads – great, just what I needed!

Somehow though my truck made it through when other cars I saw along the way had problems. I had been going quite slowly, maybe that had helped too, everybody else was already there, and the Cullens were standing around Edward's car as if they were getting ready for a photo-shoot. After I pulled into my usual spot at the school parking lot though, the riddle was solved: Charlie must have gotten up at dawn to put snow chains on my tires, lovely dad that he is. I was still smiling fondly about him, when I suddenly heard the noise of squealing tires and saw Tyler's van coming at me as if in slow motion. It was spinning out of control, and I could see Tyler's horrified face through the windshield.

Fear froze me to the spot, and I was sure to get crushed between car metal in a matter of seconds. I closed my eyes, waiting for impact, which came soon after. My head hit the asphalt with a bump that made my teeth vibrate, but then there was nothing. I would have expected the two cars to collide and squash me in between like spread on a sandwich, but I just felt as if I was in a metal cage, that felt protective somehow. I opened my eyes again and saw that Jasper had suddenly appeared and wrapped his arms around me to pull me down. There was a dent in the side of the van that looked as if someone had pushed it aside. Jasper was extremely alert and cursed when he saw that the collision had set off yet another vehicle which was moving toward my legs. He let go of me with one hand and shoved it away, before carefully cradling me again. He breathed out with relief when he saw my eyes were open.

"Are you alright, darlin'? I didn't mean to pull you down so hard…" Then he interrupted himself and tensed again. The next second he looked absolutely frightening: his eyes turned coal-black and hard, and his lips were pulled back from his immaculate white teeth in a snarl. His hold on me tightened and a feral growl ripped from deep inside of him. I shuddered and followed his eyes to what had brought on the change.

Edward was looking at him with an expression of anger so intense that you could almost touch the tension. "Ambulance is on its way. Get the hell away from here, you idiot", he pressed from between his teeth.

Jasper answered with another growl and Edward shook his head in a determined way and did not move. When the sirens came closer they both were gone so suddenly that I blinked, wondering if they had been there at all. Yet you could still see where Jasper had pushed the van and the other car had a dent that looked like his hand.

I was so confused by what I had seen that I let the EMTs take me away to hospital. Once we had arrived there though, I told them that I was fine.

"Why don't you let me decide that?" A kind voice asked from the door, and I saw that Dr Cullen had taken over my form on the clipboard. I had seen him before when he had come to talk to Charlie, and once again I wondered how someone so young could already be a doctor. He was movie-star handsome, and his eyes had the same unusual colour as Edward's and sometimes Jasper's.

"I'm ok, the cars never even touched me", I said but Dr Cullen simply handed my form to a nurse, and I was sent on the usual round of x-rays and tests. When I was finally pushed back to the ward, Charlie was already there with a worried face and scowling at Tyler, who looked definitely the worse for wear. Apparently his face had been hit by lots of flying glass from the windshield of his car.

"I'm so sorry, Bella", he said as soon as he saw me. "There was nothing I could do to stop the van…"

"You shut up, I'm dealing with you later", Charlie barked at Tyler and pulled the curtain separating the beds. "Bells, are you ok?"

"Yes, I already told the doc, but…" I was interrupted by Dr Cullen greeting Charlie at that moment.

After he had checked the x-rays of my head and my eyes once more, he pronounced me fit to leave.

"I told you I was fine", I heard myself blurting out before I could stop my bad manners.

He just smiled and touched a spot on my head. "I heard you, but with that bump on your skull, it is my responsibility to make sure. Now, you should take some painkillers and take it easy for the rest of the day."

"You were very lucky", Charlie said emotion choking up his voice. "You better call your mother and tell her, she won't believe it if she just hears it from me."

I grimaced. He had called Renee who was now in a panic, and I would have to sort it out. Wonderful! At the moment however that was the smallest of my problems.

Charlie went to settle the paperwork my stunt had generated and I got my shoes and went to wait for him in the hall.

When Charlie returned, he took my bag and led me to the Cruiser. As I was getting in I saw Jasper across the street, staring at me intently. I waved to him and smiled, but the next time I looked, he was gone.

Charlie dropped me off at home and reminded me again to call Renee. I nodded with a sigh, but decided to take my things upstairs first. My head felt sore and I wanted to take some Advil first. I had barely gotten upstairs when the doorbell rang, so I dumped my bag and ran downstairs again to open.

"Bella", Edward greeted me, his face the expression as if someone of his family had just died. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Come in then", I held the door for him. What could he want?

He shook his head and remained in the door. "Bella, I just came to let you know that… to implore you once more to stay away from Jasper. I will do what I can to keep you safe, but I really need your cooperation."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?" Why was he being so melodramatic? Besides… "Can you explain what happened this morning?"

He shook his head. "No."

"But you expect me to comply with your wishes without an explanation?"

"It looks like it", he smiled crookedly. He was trying to dazzle me into giving in to him – I had seen him do that at school with the teachers for example, but I was not taken in.

"That's asking a bit much, and what is that talk about safety?"

He took a deep breath and looked as if he had a bad toothache. "Bella, Jasper wants to kill you. Please don't make it easier for him!"

I laughed out loud. "Rubbish. He saved my life today. I would have been two-dimensional if it wasn't for him stepping in."

Edward banged his fist against the doorjamb. "Didn't you see him this morning? Why can't you see he's dangerous for you?"

"I don't see how he could be any more dangerous for me than you are. Besides, how did he get there so fast? And how did he push the cars?"

Edward made a frustrated sound and left me standing. What the hell is going on with those two?

Carlisle's POV

Much as it hurts me, I'm beginning to have doubts about my newest son. I felt the need to change his life from him above all when he arrived and was sure that he would fit in, especially with Alice being so keen on him. She has been quite lonely ever since she came to stay with us out of nowhere more than six years ago, and as she was so sure he was destined for her, I thought he was her mate. Now however there is a huge conflict right down the middle of my family, and I'm not decided what to do about it.

I know Alice and Jasper have been intimate, but as for their being mates – it just doesn't feel and look right to me, more like a matter of convenience. Esme agrees with me, and I would trust her judgement in things of the heart above all, yet there is another difficulty: Both Jasper and Edward are convinced that Bella Swan is their mate. Much as I have already researched the matter I still don't know what to do with that situation. Apparently vampires can be mated to humans, quite probably that is what happened to Rosalie when she saw Emmett hurt and dieing, but how can a human be mated to two vampires?

Alice has said that Bella is meant to be with Edward, and while I'm overjoyed about the idea of my son having finally found someone to share his existence, I'm not happy about changing another human being, and I'm sure Edward wouldn't want that either. To make matters worse, Esme thinks that Jasper is truly deeply in love with the girl, and I'm afraid that an intense personality like Jasper cannot be convinced that love once it has found its way into his heart can be wrong.

I have been worried so much that I thought my head would explode, and had it not been for Emmett and Esme both agreeing with Alice that Jasper is good for us, I fear I would have given in to my baser instincts and would have asked Jasper to leave.

When Edward called this morning about the accident, I thought we were done for. The Volturi have never been happy about my way of life, or about the fact that my family has been growing in numbers, and would only too gladly step in and end us for a breach of secrecy, so we have to find a way to deal with this incident.

I waited for the end of my shift anxiously and then raced back home in order to decide what to do. I had not yet gotten inside when Edward jumped at me. "You have to tell him to leave. He has almost exposed us this morning, and he is a danger to all of us!"

I waved off answering until I was with the others and seated next to Esme. "We have to talk about this first."

"I think that Edward is wrong in blaming Jasper, the problem is the girl", Rosalie said.

I took a deep breath. I was not happy with sending Jasper away – I was not sure he would be leaving voluntarily anyway, but neither did I want to kill Charlie Swan's daughter. She was all he had. I looked around. "Where are Jasper and Alice?"

"I have no idea", Edward said. "Jasper took off right after the accident during which he threatened me, by the way, and Alice has been gone since lunch."

"She is probably trying to comfort him somewhere", Emmett said, not sounding very convinced.

"Or…" Edward started but stopped when the last two members of our family entered. Jasper looked like thunder and pushed Alice across the room so that she crashed into the table. She stopped her fall by holding out her hands, and we all gasped when we saw a jagged silver line around her left wrist.

Emmett was on his feet at once and flew at Jasper with a growl. Jasper simply batted him down, crouching over him and daring anyone else to attack him.

"Jasper!" Esme cried and went to comfort Alice.

"See!" I could hear Edward's voice next to me.

I held a growling and hissing Rosalie back with an effort. "No! What is going on?"

"You tell them!" Jasper spit at Alice. He let go of Emmett once Rosalie had stood down, but remained close to the stairs, his eyes slits and every muscle in his body tense.

This was not going to work. "Jasper, please sit down with us. We're not ganging up on you."

He eyed me carefully and went to sit a little apart from us.

I sighed and started the meeting again. "Alice, what happened?"


	13. Chapter 13

it's Friday aaaaannnd…. another chapter!

Don't forget to review – I love reading your ideas and having the feedback.

12

Jasper's POV

When I saw the van spinning closer to Bella, I had no choice. I knew it would be difficult to sort out all the chaos I was about to cause, but I was not about to sacrifice my one chance of happiness in life for the convenience of the Cullen clan.

As soon as I had made sure that Bella had not sustained any worse injuries other than the bump on the head she had gotten when I pushed her down, I ran back to the school to deal with the first of many issues sure to arise from this morning's events.

I waited outside Alice's classroom (Edward had not come back to school yet, so she would be on her own) to pick her up. When I felt her eyes on me, I sent her a wave of desperate lust and winked at her. As she likes her creature comforts, she fell for it at once and followed me into the forest to the space where we had been before.

Once there I pounced on her and pinned her to the ground. "Talk!"

"About what?" My ruse had worked; she was completely surprised and shocked at my strange way of approaching things.

"I want to know why you didn't warn me about the accident. Bella could have been killed."

"How should I have known about the accident?" I felt fear from her now and a bad conscience. "I can't foretell accidents; no one makes a decision there."

I snorted. "No one makes a decision about the weather either, and I felt you just before it happened. You were satisfied." I kicked her, and she screamed in shock. "Why? She is my mate! I won't have her hurt by you or Edward."

"Edward doesn't want to hurt her, just the opposite."

"Oh yeah, I felt his bloodlust when he came close, it was enough to almost make me lose it myself, and that would have been a first with Bella. Why are you playing him? He is not in love with her, why are you manipulating him?"

"I'm not. He is in love with her. He is good, better for her than you, because he won't hurt her."

I knew she was provoking me on purpose so I tried to stay calm and collected. "Alice why do you want me here?"

"I love you, and I've been waiting for you to join us. You need a happy life."

"Bullshit. If you loved me, you would not make me suffer so much by sabotaging me with Bella."

"I do what?" She pretended innocence once more.

"I know you must have sent Carlisle to talk to her dad about what bad company I am." I had known that as soon as Bella talked to me about my past, but my Southern education had prevented me from acting out against a female the way I would have toward a male. Now however things had changed. I gave her another determined stare. "Right, you can tell me at once, or things can get pretty ugly. Now tell me why you need me here!" I took hold of her hand, hoping she would not make me turn into the Major once again, but of course the obstinate pixie had no idea what I was capable of. She just smiled at me.

"I told you, I want you for myself, that's why I don't want you hanging around that pathetic human girl."

I looked away briefly, then twisted her hand right off. She shrieked in pain and tried to push me off her, but she was no match for me.

"Alice, why?" I asked calmly, signalling that I had plenty more of her to go on with. I hated myself for what she was making me do, but I had taken far too much from her already, and now she was definitely dangerous to Bella.

"I can't tell…"

I took hold of her other hand, and her eyes widened in panic. "Ok, ok, I'm talking. You know I told Carlisle that I don't have any memories of my human life, but that's a lie."

"Go on!"

"My family sent me to a lunatic asylum because they were afraid of my visions. I stayed there for a time, and then the new head doctor became interested in me." I frowned, wanting her to come to the point. She sighed. "He was a vampire. Then one night he took me away from the place, he promised he would free me, and I believed him. He had always been so nice to me, the only person who ever had been. We travelled for a while; I think he wanted to take me away out of state, so no one would recognise me afterwards. The next thing I remember is the pain of the change. When I woke up again, I was with another vampire. He was… pure evil. He said he had killed Alfred – the other one – but had been too late, he had already changed me."

"Huh?" I didn't understand her drift.

"James… he is fascinated by vampires who get involved with humans, he wanted to get to me in order to torture Alfred, that's his way of hunting, but he was too late. So he was very angry and decided to take it out on me. He made me stay with him for the next forty three years, and believe me, he is not a nice person. What you did with me here before was heaven compared to life with James, and I wanted to get away from him more than anything else. I had seen that Carlisle and his family would take me in, so I went to them as soon as I got away, and the next six years were the happiest in my existence."

"I still don't know what you want from me."

"James valued my gift, and he has been looking for me frantically. Some years ago, I had a vision of him finding me with my new family, but you were there too, and you were protecting us."

I must have looked clueless, so she went on. "You are the one they call the God of War, aren't you?"

"I'm done with that, and you don't want to tell anyone that you know, is that clear?" It was enough that I suspected Edward knew more than was good for any of us. I did not need her to go advertising I could be fought in Forks, Washington, to a psychopath.

She flinched at my implication, but went on anyway. "You can still teach us to fight, you can kill him."

I almost laughed. "You went through this whole charade because you want me to kill a damn vampire, that's all?"

"James is dangerous; he's wily and not easy to kill. Besides, he probably has already gathered a coven of human haters around him."

"Ok", I said calmly, "but I still don't understand why you want me to stay away from my mate."

She looked at me as if I was a bit slow in the head. "James will attack you just for talking to Bella, he will go for her to torture you, do you want that?"

"Why would that make Edward any better?"

She smiled. "Edward would talk to her at school and court her in his fantasies, but he doesn't want to change her, so there is no danger involved. I'm with Carlisle all the way, I don't want humans dead."

She almost had me fooled, but: "The accident?"

She sighed. "Alright, I was a bit tired of trying to manage you both."

"How do you think this James will feel about all the patients Carlisle is treating as well as the charity work Esme is doing in town? You can't really think he will leave them alone, can you?"

"No, of course not, but with you we can fight him. I don't think Carlisle or Emmett will let him take me without a fight, neither will Edward, but we are all… vegetarians. We need you, Jasper."

I could see her point, but I was not wholly convinced of her strategy. Besides, there was still a feeling of mistrust coming from her.

"What else?"

"Nothing else."

"You're lying!" I took hold of her hand again.

She took a deep breath. "I have a human mate too."

I shook my head, but she had already talked on. "If I can wait until James is finished, so can you. Don't be so selfish. I would never endanger him the way you endanger Bella."

"I have waited for more than three years."

"So what? James is coming here, soon. Help me, or would you rather have him slaughter the town just to watch Esme and Carlisle suffer? I'm reasonably sure he won't leave Bella alive either just for her chocolate eyes."

Another fight. I thought I had gotten away from all that horror. On the other hand she was right. I would not have Esme or Carlisle suffer, who had taken me in, nor would I risk that anything happened to Emmett or Rosalie. "Ok", I said, reattaching her hand with my venom. "But no more secrets from now on. You will tell Carlisle what's going on, and you will not endanger Bella, is that clear?" I stood above her.

She nodded, getting up and holding her injured hand, still stinging from my venom.

We made our way back to the house after she had fed some to heal.

Carlisle's POV

"Alice, what happened?"

She told us about her past and how she had been lying to us about not knowing anything.

"Why would you do that?" Esme wondered, still comforting her in her arms.

"I… I did not want you to think badly of me. Living with James was not exactly life like you would approve."

"Poor child, we would never have turned you away, you must know that." Esme was shaking her head, and of course Alice was forgiven everything, but I felt that there was more to be discussed here.

However Rosalie beat me to the next question. "So you're saying this psychopath is on his way here to snatch you and torture us, and you want us to do fight training with Jasper?"

She nodded. "If Jasper is willing to do that." She sounded uncharacteristically meek, and I suspect that she had never expected Jasper's reaction.

I did not like the prospect of a fight; neither did I want to send Alice away. Besides with what she had just told us, if James had done his research, he would come for my family anyway. "Jasper?" I asked.

"You can't be seriously considering keeping him here?" Edward cut in. "He almost exposed us today."

Jasper turned on Edward with a look of contempt. "I had this impression that you were between the cars as well, and you were not about to safe her."

"Of course I was."

Jasper snorted, and I too could tell that my son was lying.

"Can we come to the point here?" Rosalie asked tiredly. "I know we have to do something about that James character eventually, but first of all, what about the accident?"

"The girl is not talking about Jasper's involvement", I said. I liked the Chief, he was a good man, and he had been a lot happier since his daughter had come to live with him.

"Yes, but she has already been asking questions of Edward", Rosalie said.

"When?" Jasper asked sharply, and Edward flinched.

"I went to warn her about you", he said not looking into Jasper's eyes.

"Now that would certainly put her off the tracks", Emmett was shaking his head. "Any success?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders, and Emmett guffawed. "I bet she told you to get lost. She looks like a tough little thing." After having seen her medical history I certainly agreed with that assessment.

"Leave. Her. Alone!" Jasper growled. "She is mine!"

"That was exactly why I had to warn her about you. I was afraid you would take the opportunity to whisk her away. The Chief would send the whole FBI after you."

"I really don't know how you came to have the impression of me as a bumbling imbecile", Jasper shook his head at him, then turned to me. "I'll do what Alice wants on one condition. I want no more interference with Bella…"

"Carlisle, you can't just give that sweet girl to this…this animal!" Edward screamed appalled. When I tried to calm him down, he left the room and we heard crashing furniture in the house.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "… and I want my own people in." He told us about his friends.

I saw Esme's worried face, but Jasper beat me to it. "They are the nicest people you could imagine, Esme. They won't hurt anyone without a reason."

"Well, I'm all for it", Emmett said. Rosalie shook her head at him, but nodded her consent. "I think we can take Edward's reaction for a no."

Esme looked to me and nodded, as did I. What choice did we have after all?

"You need to contact the Quileute about Peter and Charlotte here. They won't feed here, of course, but we don't need another fight as well", Jasper said and told me about the wolves.

"Yes, you're right. I'll talk to the Blacks at once."

"Hey, when will we start training?" Emmett came up to Jasper to slap his shoulder eagerly.

"Oh, we'll have lots of time next week. It will be all sunny from Wednesday on." Alice beamed at everyone and danced to Jasper to whisper something in his ear. At least she holds no grudges.

I sighed and went to look for Edward.

I found him in my study, pretending to read. "Care for a run?"

He nodded, and we went out to be out of earshot for our talk.

"Are you sure about your feelings for Bella?" I asked when he repeated his plea from earlier.

"Yes, of course I am."

"And what about her feelings for you?"

"I can't tell, damnit", he kicked a tree in frustration. "But in effect, I think it's a good thing." He told me about his theory which I found intriguing as well, but I feared I had to warn him too. "Edward, Jasper is not going to give up on her, and he does not take interference lightly."

"Yes, like I tried to tell you, he is like a wild animal when it comes to her; I hear his thought about her, and you wouldn't believe…"

"Edward, stay out of his head…"

"No, he is thinking vile things about the girl I love. You wouldn't stand for that either if it was Esme."

I sighed. "Please calm down. In the end it will be down to Bella to decide between you, do you understand that?"

His eyes were pained. "You really think that monster will be giving her a choice to reject him?"

"I don't think he is a monster. You might be right in that he has had nothing but hate and violence in his existence so far, but I don't think there can be such a thing as an insensitive empath."

Edward shook his head in disbelieve. "You just wait and see", he said ominously and took off running. I understood he needed to be alone and left him to it.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hello everyone! Here is your weekly instalment. It comes with a caution though: I'm afraid, you will have to make this one last. I'm going on holiday next week, so I won't be updating for some time.**_

_**I don't own twilight, SM does. I do however own a new PC, which –after hours and hours of work (another reason why there won't be another chapter this weekend) – has finally given up its resistance to working as it should.**_

_**Have fun reading and leave me lots of reviews to go on with… have to admit I'm also a little stuck here…**_

13

Bella's POV

I was so mad at Edward for not explaining what was going on, that I would have ripped him apart if I could. I was equally mad at not being able to reach Jasper. I wanted to talk to him and thank him. Yes, and ask him how he had done it, but I didn't have his cell-phone number and calling the Cullen house just did not look like a good idea with both the doc and Edward trying to keep me away from him.

At least I did not have a lot of time to brood over the whole thing on the weekend: Saturday morning meant cleaning, washing and cooking, then homework – somehow there was quite a lot of that – and in the evening I was at a movie night at Mike Newton's house with Angela, Jessica and the rest of the gang.

On Sunday Charlie took me along to the reservation again; he said that Jake had specifically asked for me to come along, so I prepared another pie and we had a lot of fun with the Blacks. Jake's elder sister was there, and it felt like home in a way to be with them again. In the afternoon we took a walk on the beach, and Jake and I fell into talking about school and stuff. Somehow the topic of the Cullens came up, and he grinned. "So are you keeping away from the dangerous people, Bella? I mean, you don't need any more trouble than your usual clumsiness, right?"

"Huh? Why would you think they are dangerous? Charlie really likes the doc and his wife."

"Ehm", he made a waving 'I'm on the inside' movement with his hands and went to throw another bit of driftwood back into the sea.

"Oh come on, Jake, that's not fair", I moaned pouting.

"I'm not supposed to talk about that anyway", he kicked a pebble furiously.

"Hey, what's gotten into you?" It was not like my sunny-tempered old friend to be moody and aggressive.

"Oh, man, just friend trouble." Suddenly it all spilled out of him, how Paul, Embry and Quil were missing school and spending time with an older Quileute, Sam Uley, and how they were acting as if they were superior to him.

I knew this must be hard for Jake, who had little to no alternatives for finding friends on the reservation and comforted him. When that did not work, I tried to distract him. "What's the big secret about the dangerous people then? You know, with all my clumsiness, I might need a heads-up or it will be my ruin." I looked up through my eyelashes at him and flashed him a smile like Jasper's.

I had not expected my attempt at flirting to work – I had so little practice at that sort of thing, and Jacob and I had been friends since kindergarten – but it did. Jake snorted and sat down on a tree trunk, bleached to skeleton whiteness and started talking in a mysterious storyteller's voice. He told me how the Quileute are said to have descended from wolves and how they could still turn into wolves when the tribe was in danger. He said that the only challenge for those wolves protecting the tribe were the cold ones, evil creatures looking like human beings but made of stone, which sucked the lifeblood out of their prey.

"Ok, but what is the connection to the Cullens?"

"Well, my great-grandfather, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with them."

"Huh?"

"The Quileute warriors found them and wanted to destroy them, but their leader convinced the Chief that they were not dangerous. So they came to an arrangement: the Cullens would not set foot on the reservation, and we would not tell the palefaces what they really were."

"Whoa, wait! How could the doc and his wife have met your great-granddad? They look barely thirty. Besides, they must be different Cullens, they moved down here from Alaska two years ago."

Jake shrugged and put on the mysterious voice again. "Moved or… came back." Then he shook himself, got up and pulled me with him. "It's just old stories anyway; there are lots of those around." Then he grinned mischievously. "Don't worry, Bella, as long as you are here with me you are absolutely safe from them."

"That's comforting, because I sit next to them in class for the better part of the day", I scoffed and laughed it off in order not to make him suspicious.

I was deep in thought when we drove home that night. Jake's stories had certainly set my mind spinning. Beautiful cold creatures that drank people's blood? The Cullens vampires? I shook my head at myself, but as soon as I was in my room, I started my computer anyway and began researching vampires. What I came up with – apart from the expected trash – surprisingly actually fit my experience with Jasper and Edward quite well: The speed, the strength, the white cold skin, the beauty and the attraction, not to mention the fact that I had never seen them eat or drink anything. There was a big but however: Surely vampires could not become doctors, unless the moved around quickly when their patients started dying, and Charlie had not told me about any recent mass murder in Forks.

And, I thought sarcastically when I shut down the computer two hours later and yawned my way to bed, there was an even bigger obstacle to the whole idea: There was no such thing as vampires in the real world. Great, yes, I knew that, but then how did Jasper get to me and how did he push the van away? Jake's stories kept haunting me deep into the night, and the next morning I felt as if I had not slept at all.

To top it all, it seemed as if it was "Annoy Bella Day". It started with a note by Edward, not asking so much but ordering me to try to switch places with his sister. He had handed it to me just before the start of the lesson, and when I looked at it after the lesson, I must have made an exasperated noise, because the next moment I found Jasper looking at me interestedly. He had arrived after the teacher that day, and there had not yet been an opportunity to thank him for Friday, so I turned to him and said my thank-you.

He just smiled back at me and waved my thanks away. My heart must have missed a beat when he turned his smile on me – how does he do that? – and I completely forgot that I had meant to ask him how he had saved me. The next moment I thought I heard him make that growling noise again, and he was gone with his siblings.

"Hey, Bella", I suddenly heard another voice next to me. "Bella? Are. You. There?"

"What?" I realised that I had been staring at Jasper's empty place while Eric was trying to attract my attention.

"I thought that maybe you didn't know about Spring Dance and wondered if you would like to come with me?"

"Dancing? Eh, no thank you, Eric, I don't think I will be here that weekend anyway. Sorry!" I grabbed my things and went to the next classroom in a hurry. Once there I saw Jasper having a heated debate with Edward and Alice, but they were speaking so low I could not find out what it was about. I suspected however that it had to do with the note. Wait! Had he read my note? Grrr! I would show him I did not need him to do my talking for me.

With firm steps I made my way to the arguing Cullens, stumbling only twice, and stopped right in front of Edward. "I am more than capable of handling my own affairs. Don't stick your nose where it isn't wanted."

Edward's face was priceless, and Alice giggled – a very funny sound – and Jasper rewarded me with another of his breathtaking smiles. This time though I had come prepared. I waited until we were both settled at our table before turning to him. "The same goes for you: don't read my stuff!" His smile vanished, and in its place was an expression so pained briefly that I almost started comforting him, but he just put on a blank face again and drawled "Sorry to have annoyed you, Ma'am" in a southern accent that sounded as if it had come from a western movie.

I rolled my eyes and pretended to concentrate on the lesson.

For the next two periods we kept to silence. At lunch Jasper stayed by my side and steered me to a small table after loading up a tray with all sorts of health food. I shrugged and grabbed an apple and a soda.

"You're going to eat all this?" I asked, pointing to the food.

"No, you are", he said determinedly.

"Excuse me?"

"You can't live off hardly any breakfast and an apple; you're going to make yourself sick." He pushed the tray to my side of the table.

"Unlike you, who live on love and thin air, right?" I might have smirked a little.

He bit down a smile. "Something like that."

"Will you explain what happened on Friday?"

Self-consciousness flickered across his face. "I saved your life. You're welcome."

"Don't garnish your prose with too much detail."

"Didn't Edward already tell you? I'm a monster who wants to kill you for his own gratification. Only he stopped me from dragging you away to Monster Central to make you my slave." Sarcasm now, aha.

"He did, but what do you really want with me?"

His eyes – black again – were boring into me, the painful expression back on his face. "What if he was right, and I wanted to take you away from your friends and family to be with me?"

Every fibre in my body told me to say yes to his question, but at that moment I was just scared out of my mind, completely freaked out. "I… I don't know what you mean, Jasper. I hardly know you, and you're not giving me any answers… I'm not sure…"

"Bella, are you ok?" Mike Newton was standing next to the table looking down at me with a look of concern.

"Yes, thanks, Mike." I looked at Jasper and saw that same look of hatred pointed at Mike that he had given Edward on Friday. Mike staggered back at once. "It's ok, man, I was just asking her a question." He left for his usual place.

"What was that just now?" I asked quite sharply.

"N-nothing", Jasper stuttered.

"Can you leave my friends alone?"

"I'm not doing anything." Said in a threatening way.

"You know what? They are right. You are seriously deranged." I got up. "I have some work at the library. I left him sitting alone.

I barely got out of the door when he was near me again – still moving really fast. "Bella, I'm sorry. I did not mean to be so… possessive. I'm not a jerk like that usually."

I sighed and let him follow me to the picnic tables outside. "Will you give me some answers then?"

"It's not as easy as you think", he started.

I rolled my eyes, but when I looked into his face again, I did not see Edward's superior smugness but only fear and pain. I wanted nothing more than wrap my arms around him and comfort him. Hmmm, to be that close to him… My mind trailed off, and before I could ask how I could make him better, he started talking again. "I'm afraid you would despise me, and I could not live with you thinking I was disgusting… it's…"

Was he telling me he loved me in an extremely roundabout way? I could not imagine finding him disgusting – he was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. "Why would I do that? I really like you and …"

An angry outburst interrupted what could most likely have become my first attempt at confessing love to a man.

"Damn it, Jasper, why do you have to act like that?" Edward was with us, looking so angry that I was afraid he would rip himself apart like Rumpelstilzken.

The other Cullens appeared behind him with Alice bringing up the rear.

I blushed furiously, and the next second Jasper was in front of me in some kind of crouching stand. I could see his muscles under the fabric of his shirt, he was as tense as a coiled spring.

"Hey, you two, knock it off!" The big burly brother had stepped in between Edward and Jasper. "Calm down!"

It looked like the brothers were having a conversation, but I couldn't hear a word. "Hi, Bella, are they acting up again?" Alice asked in her high chiming voice.

"Actually, Jasper and I were trying to have a private conversation, before Edward butted in", I answered loud enough for Edward to hear.

Obviously that was the moment the bell rang, and we had to go to class, unfortunately that meant I was leaving with Edward. "Can you keep out of my business?" I hissed at him just before Banner came in.

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into, and I have to protect you", he answered arrogantly and concentrated on his book.

I swear that boy is so infuriating that I'm wondering how he got to grow up to seventeen.

And it looked as if my troubles were far from over yet. At the end of the lesson, Mike came up to me to walk me to gym. Edward came along, surely to warn me against Jasper again, I thought exasperatedly. How could I hammer it into his mind that I did not need his warnings? Mike interrupted my musings halfway to the gym: "Hey, Arizona, what would you think of going to the Spring Dance with me?"

The next daring idiot – this place must be teeming with brave but small-minded boys, and really of all people Mike should know better, he saw me doing sports regularly. I was still thinking what to say to his offer, when Edward's snobby voice cut in. "Sorry, Newton, that won't be possible. She's going with me!"

I was speechless – but only for a short time. Then I exploded: "You are clearly delusional, Edward Cullen, if you're thinking I have agreed to go anywhere with you. Even if I was here that weekend – which I'm not – I would not take you up on this …offer, presumption, or whatever you think that is. You should definitely learn where you're wanted and where not. Go dance with yourself!" I turned to Mike. "Sorry, I won't be here, but you should really ask Jessica, I know she wants to go with you." Then I left them standing and went to the girls locker rooms. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Jasper throwing his head back and laughing contagiously. Oh dear, I must have spoken quite loud. I rushed into the building to get out of sight, blushing furiously and only glad that Edward was not in my gym class.

For once the sixty minutes of gym passed quickly, Jasper was in a hilarious mood and fooled around like a March hare with me and the people on our team, which meant we were all almost rolling on the floor with laughter.

We were still holding our sides when we got out, and by now I'm sure my whole research thing was in vain. Jake must have been having me on. Vampires can't be as funny as that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello Folks, I'm back. I had a real fight with this chapter and only hope that this version will do the trick. Tell me what you think… kindly, please.**

**Still don't own twilight.**

14

Bella's POV

I drove away from school still laughing. Two miles down the road however I was confused again: If I was honest with myself I had to admit that I had fallen in love with that strange guy, no matter how dangerous he was – according to Edward – or how deranged/criminal or whatever his past might have been. Even no matter if he was one of the "Cold Ones" of Jake's stories. What I did not know was what to do about it, and the melodramatic way Jasper had been talking to me all day as well as his possessive streak did not make things easier. I sighed exasperatedly and pulled into the parking lot of the local supermarket for shopping.

Not really taking care I rushed through the aisles adding things to my cart, when I was suddenly stopped because I had careened headlong into another girl. I was mortally embarrassed and apologized at once, but she just waved my excuses away while getting up again and brushing herself down.

"Don't worry, things like that happen to me all of the time. I was probably walking around with my eyes closed anyway, no harm done." She smiled at me, and I noticed that she was really pretty: about my age and long shiny strawberry hair and big violet eyes. She was really pale though.

"Do you live around here?" I asked, inferring that her skin color could be the result of this rainy place. I was hoping that she did, too, because she seemed really nice.

"No", she smiled, "I'm just staying in the vicinity for a while to visit a friend. My name's Charlotte", she held out her hand.

I took it. "Bella. Meet the other vertically challenged inhabitant of Forks."

We started chatting and found that we had quite a few thing s in common: she also liked reading and was not too keen on parties and stuff like that. In one word: I was absolutely charmed by her and ended up regretting that she was not at my school.

"Goodness", she said looking at her watch after a while. I did the same and started. We had been talking for an hour. "Damn, sorry, I need to be home cooking for my dad…"

"Yes, I should also call my boyfriend, he's probably tearing up the county looking for me."

"Well", for once I was not slow to react. "If you're staying here longer, you should call me." I handed over my cell phone number.

"Yes, I would like that. You know what? I just call him to let him know where I am, and then he can watch his baseball game without me."

I giggled. "He keeps watching the game?"

She sighed and nodded.

"Want to come along for a drink or something?" I asked. I was not letting this opportunity at making a friend pass by. Not this time.

"I would love to", she said, sent a rapidly typed text-message to someone, and we did the rest of my shopping together.

When we were at the checkout I noticed that she had not gotten anything and asked. "What about your stuff?"

She started but caught herself quickly. "Oh, I meant to get some chips for Pete, but as I won't be keeping him company for his sports event… well, he can go without them."

"Are your parents ok with you travelling with your boyfriend?" I wondered what he was like.

"I'm a bit older than I look", she smiled back. "Pete and I have been together for a long time, and no one will tell us not to visit our oldest friend who has just moved up here."

"I see." I said not understanding.

By that time we had arrived at the house and Charlotte helped me get my bags out. "Can I use your bathroom for a second?" She asked, sounding urgent and looking uncomfortable.

"Of course", I pointed out the way for her and she made a beeline for it while I started putting away the groceries and making some tea.

Charlotte's POV

Phew! I just about made it into the bathroom before my contacts had completely disintegrated from the venom, but at least my plan had worked. I was not about to let Jasper cause any more chaos and ruin our chances at having Bella in our life.

Man, I love this girl, and I would definitely like to have a female best friend. We could have so much fun together, and with her Jasper would be in a much better mood, too.

I put in another pair of dark blue contacts and rejoined her in the kitchen to help putting away the food and start the cooking for her father. We got back to talking, and after a while I stirred conversation back to the topic of boyfriends. I wanted to sound her out about Jasper, too, because I was not completely sure that our friend was reading the signals right she was giving him. For all his cleverness and hypersensitivity he is still a guy who has been single for a hell of a long time, so I guess he might need some help there.

"There is this guy at school that I think about a lot", Bella was just telling me while she washed chicken breasts before cutting them into strips for frying. "I don't know why, he just takes up so much space in my head, that sometimes I feel he's all there is." She was shaking her head at herself.

I laughed. "I know what you mean. They tend to do that, get you in knots so twisted that you think the whole world revolves around them."

"Just like that", she nodded, "and for me it's the first time, and I'm just confused…"

"Tell me about him", I encouraged her. I had sensed Jasper near. Probably it would do him some good to hear his praise sung. He never believed any of my compliments about his looks, always thought of himself as some sort of Quasimodo who was only able to get women because of his gift.

"He's… phew… well, I just think he's gorgeous, he's seriously hot. I just keep wanting to run my hands through his hair and mess it up. He is not like the other guys, he's clever, has read everything, and he is really sweet, always interested in what you have to say." She looked to me for understanding.

I nodded and smiled. There you have it Jasper!

"I know I sound like a sick teenager raving about the latest idol, but as soon as I close my eyes I see him in my head and want to spend more time with him, like really close."

"You want him near you all the time?" Mating pull at work?

She nodded, blushing furiously. I swallowed venom. Damn, she smelled good. Jasper really needed to change her soon. But at least he ought to be able to feel her lust for him, if even I could almost smell it.

Bella giggled and threw a tea towel at me. She missed by a yard and shrugged. Then she sighed. "I just can't imagine how he could be really interested in me for long, he's just so… perfect."

I rolled my eyes. Jasper was right outside the door which was slightly ajar, and things like that could definitely go to his head. "He must have one vice."

"Ye-es, that he has", she grinned. "He is absolutely infuriating. Today I was about to take his head off…"

She was interrupted at that point by Jasper bursting into the room.

I shook my head at him: That was not what I had had in mind, an entrance vampire style without explanation of why you're in a building etc. Then I was almost taken off my feet by a wave of emotions radiating from him, which I would not have expected after Bella's long list of his qualities, but he was howling in pain and projecting enough anger for me to almost cower. "Jasper, what…?"

He wrapped Bella in a tight embrace which almost cut off her air supply and buried his face in her hair. "No, please, you can't do this to me."

"Do what? How did you get in here?" Bella struggled to free herself without success.

Jasper tightened his embrace. "I won't let this happen. You're mine, you hear that?" He growled furiously and Bella started shaking.

Oh no, whatever had he gotten wrong now? Clearly the Major was getting the upper hand, and while I was sure Bella loved Jasper, I was equally sure she was not ready to meet that side of his personality just yet. "Jasper!" No reaction. "Major, stop! You're scaring her!"

I got a vicious hiss for my efforts and took a step back. Better do this from a distance. "What happened?"

"He's trying to steal her, claiming her before I can, and she lets him into her bed." He had let go Bella and was growling at her now.

The poor girl was frightened out of her mind – as who wouldn't be in the face of an angry Jasper – and said in a voice barely audible. "I don't know what you're talking about, no one but me sleeps in my bed."

"Don't lie to me!" He hissed, his eyes burning with anger and pain. "I can't bear… it hurts too much." He pushed her from him.

I caught Bella in my arms trying to comfort her. "Enough, Jasper, you're hurting her!"

"Get. Out. Of. My. House. Now!" A voice from the door thundered. Bella's father stood in the doorway, and I'm not sure who was scarier in his rage, Jasper or Charlie Swan. The Chief turned on Jasper. "If I see you here again, I will consider it trespassing. Don't you dare come near my daughter again if you can't control your emotions! Out!" He held the door for him.

Jasper looked as if he was about to take on the Chief when a sob came from Bella. That did it for the enraged empathy. He froze and flinched. "Oh god, Bella, I did not mean to make you cry. I…"

"Do you have a problem with your ears?" Chief Swan hollered, and I grabbed Jasper's arm and pulled him outside. "Not now, Jasper." At least he was shaken enough to let himself be dragged along by me.

I got him as far as the woods near the Swan house where he collapsed. Peter was already waiting for us, his expression not boding well for the chat he would want to have in private with me later.

"Care to explain what the hell is going on?" Peter looked from Jasper to me.

I sighed. "I met Bella and came along to her house. She really needed a friend to talk, and I thought I could make things easier for Jasper that way. It worked, everything was fine until…" I looked to our friend who was sitting on the forest floor holding his head in pain.

Peter touched his shoulder. "Jasper, what is going on?" When he got no answer he turned to me.

I shrugged and told him what had happened. "So he thinks she has another boyfriend, which I'm pretty sure is not true." She had told me herself that she had not been in love before, besides, every inch of her screamed virgin.

"She's in love with Edward, and he sleeps in her bed."

I guffawed. "Rubbish! Where did you get that harebrained idea? She was describing you, you idiot!"

"Then why is his scent is all over her room?" Jasper asked tonelessly and broke down again.

Peter raised his eyebrows at me, but I just shrugged. He bent down and touched Jasper's shoulders. "Do you want us to take him down or will you go after him yourself?"

Jasper looked up at us, his face as dead as he had been for 150 years. "No. She loves him."

"Major?" We were sure we had misheard him.

"Isn't it enough I frightened her like I did today? Do I have to kill her love too?" He was shaking with the pain inside him, and we were at our wits end when one of the Cullens showed up.

The small, caramel-haired woman acknowledged us with a small nod. "You must be Jasper's friends Charlotte and Peter." Then she sat down next to Jasper and pulled him toward her, comforting him like a mother would a small child. "Jasper darling, I'm sure we can work it out." She sat with him for an hour and held him to comfort him. After that he got up.

"Esme, I need to be alone for a while."

"But you will come back to us?" When he shrugged, she implored him once more. "Jasper, please! Don't leave without saying goodbye."

He bent down to her briefly to kiss her cheek. "I won't." Then he ran into the forest.

"Can you tell me what happened to my son?" Esme turned to Peter and me.

"No, Ma'am", Peter answered ironically, "But it looks as if your son Edward can tell you." It was clear he was angry that his oldest friend was upset.

"Peter, no, he said he did not want us to go after him", I tried curling into his arms to calm him down, but he shrugged me off.

"Looks like the animal diet does not agree with him", my mate scoffed. Esme flinched and was at a safe distance at once. For all the world knew he could be a heartless bastard, but I knew he was deeply shaken by Jasper's pain and scared about what he would do.

I sighed and held up my hands to Esme, signaling we meant no harm. "There has been a misunderstanding. Jasper thinks that Bella has been sleeping with Edward."

"Goodness", she exclaimed. "Surely that must be a misunderstanding, but I can see how that would disturb the poor dear. Can you take care of him?"

"Don't worry, I will", Peter said determinedly and took off without another word.

I shook my head. "He is not usually as impolite as that, it's just his way of dealing with Jasper's mood. They are very close."

"I see", Esme said. "It's good he has close friends, it would be horrible for him to be on his own." She thought for a minute. "You're welcome to stay at our house if you like. I need to talk to Carlisle about this trouble."

"Thank you. I try to talk to Bella again."

"Do that. I'll get a room ready in case you are coming later. See you then."

I dialed the number Bella had given me as soon as Esme was gone. I did not really believe that Bella was with Edward, but it would obviously be better to hear from her own mouth that she had indeed been talking about Jasper, so I waited patiently for her to answer her phone.

"Yes?" Warily after five rings.

"Bella, it's me, Charlotte. I was wondering how you are."

"Not too good."

"I'm sure Jasper did not mean to scare you like that. He was just upset because he…"

"Is he the friend you were visiting?"

"Yes. He is a real nice man once you get to know him better…"

A hollow laugh. "My father banned him from the house, and I'm not keen on violent men either." A lot of pain there.

"Bella, he could not hurt you if he tried; he was just out of control and upset by the idea of you and Edward…"

"What would I want with that jerk?"

"Thanks a million, Bella. You've just made my day."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I can't explain that right now. It's been great meeting you. I'll see you again soon. Bye!"

I had to find Jasper and tell him, but first I needed to get my mate off the warpath before he laid the county to waste.


	16. Chapter 16

**Aallright, another chapter – have fun reading and reviewing. And yes, they will get together in the next chapter, so be patient just a little longer **

**Still don't own twilight**

15

Carlisle's POV

What a strange day!

When I came home from the hospital in the late afternoon, I found Esme very happy. Apparently Jasper had come home from school that day in a buoyant mood, and the way she described it, it must have been a sight for sore eyes. She said she had never seen anyone so elated, and was almost dancing around the room herself. It looks like having an empath around can have its benefits; Rosalie was also quietly singing to herself and even Emmett's good mood had not been dampened by Esme telling him to tidy up the living room. Alice and Edward were gone off hunting, so I could not say anything about them, though I would really like my brooding son to have some fun for once.

Suddenly however Esme got up from my lap and dashed out into the forest. When I followed her, worried about what had caused this, she told me to go back. "I have the feeling that one of our children is in pain and needs their mom. You go back, dear, I can do this on my own."

Obviously I did not leave her completely alone but watched from a distance as she comforted Jasper and spoke to his friends, a tall blond man and a petite girl, human drinkers. My lioness did not even let herself be threatened into giving up by the tall vampire. Where her children are concerned, she knows no fear. When Jasper took off, I waited for her to join me and tried to take her worrying mind of the problem.

"But Carlisle, he was in so much pain. We need to make him better!" She curled into my arms for comfort.

"I would like to tell you everything will work itself out, darling, but at the moment I am confused. I have no idea what happens if a mate rejects the vampire, but it looks like it feels as if the mate died, and then…"

"But then he would die as well", she cried. "We can't let this happen." She was panicking; clearly as far as Esme was concerned Jasper was part of the family even though he had been there only such a short time.

"There, there", I tried to calm her down. "I don't think that she could reject him if she was his mate, and you have done all you can. He knows he is loved, and his friends will also comfort him."

She huffed, clearly not convinced.

"Esme, darling, you can't tuck him up in bed and give him hot milk and a cookie. He is a man."

She rolled her eyes at me and left me standing to attack the weeds that dared to encroach on her garden. I shrugged my shoulders and left. When she was in this mood, talking was no good. An hour later she was joined by the petite blonde, Charlotte, and the women worked together in silence. At least something that Charlotte told Esme made her better, and I could hear some quiet laughter drifting up to my window from time to time.

I wanted to find out what had happened that day at school, but neither Alice nor Edward were in and the account I got from Emmett did only confuse me. So I spent the night reading up on mating and trying to find out if a situation like we had had occurred before – no results. Everything came back to the idea that there could be no such thing as one person mated to two people.

Jasper came home early in the morning and disappeared into his room to play the guitar – as we had found out before, his way of dealing with heartache. Charlotte tried to join him, but was told to leave him alone. I have to say he is a very considerate person; he never wants anyone near when he is projecting his depression.

At seven a commotion started downstairs so I left my study to find out what was going on. I was just in time to see Edward flying past me as if the devil himself was pursuing him, closely followed by Jasper's tall friend in a foul mood. He caught up with him at the stairs and took him by the scruff of his neck and stopped him from going to his room.

"Excuse me!" I frowned at this guest's ideas of behavior, but was ignored completely.

"Major!" the other Texan vampire hollered. "I know what's going on."

Jasper shot out of his room. "Did I not give you clear orders?"

Everybody would have cowered at his look, but his friend only shrugged. "You know that sometimes your orders are way off, besides, I did not touch a hair on his precious head." He dusted Edward down roughly. "This skunk slunk into her room when she was asleep and spent the night there watching her sleep. He even lay on the bed with her, as if his being there was not creepy enough already." Contempt was flying off from him in droves.

Charlotte grinned at Jasper. "See, she didn't even know he was there, and she was describing you!"

Jasper stood thinking for a moment, then he started toward Edward. "You have been watching her without her knowledge, staying in her room at night? You could have killed…" Then he lost it and threw himself at Edward. For the next half hour we could see nothing but rising dust and fighting vampires taking apart the hallway. For a while it looked like an even fight, with Edward's gift helping him dodge Jasper's attacks, but then the seasoned fighter went into another gear and started fighting instinctively, so that soon he had my oldest son pinned to the ground, his hands around his neck, and growling.

"Jasper, stop that!" I screamed.

"Jazz, please, don't hurt Edward!" Alice piped up from behind the banister where she had been hiding since the beginning of the fight. She must have returned to the house just before Edward. We had all taken cover, even Jasper's friends kept a safe distance.

"Major, no, calm down! He is not worth getting in trouble for", Charlotte hollered.

He ignored us all. His eyes were burning with hatred and he hissed: "You touched her without her permission. You are dead!" He had already taken off his left arm and was now biting into him wherever he could get him. It was clear that he was not set to make Edward's death quick, and for the moment it did not look as if there was any way of stopping him. Suddenly we heard a choked voice.

"No, Jasper, stop hurting my son, please!" Esme pleaded with him, carefully coming closer.

"Esme!" I cried, trying to drag her back, but Jasper looked up at her and let go of Edward for long enough so that he could tear up the stairs and disappear. We heard his door bang shut upstairs and music started.

Jasper turned toward the stairs snarling and growling but Emmett and Peter caught him. "No!"

"Enough!" I said and got in front of him. "Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, you get ready for school. Jasper, I want to talk to you in my study in exactly half an hour, so calm down!"

"Carlisle, the kids cannot…" Esme started, but I cut her off by embracing her, thankful she had not gotten hurt in the fray.

"Yes, they can. They won't be there for the rest of the week, that's enough time missed!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at me but pulled the others along to get out of our way. I knew I could rely on her to make sure they attended.

Then I went to the third floor to talk to Edward.

I reattached his arm and took care of the wounds Jasper had given him, sensing however that it was his ego that had been wounded most. I have never encountered my oldest son in a more stubborn mood. He insisted that he was desensitizing himself against the lure of Bella's blood by staying in her room at night and refused to see anything wrong with this. He even claimed he was protecting her against Jasper's attempts at getting closer to her this way. Once he had said his piece he cold-shouldered me and I left the topic alone, hoping that once he had calmed down and also stopped hurting from the fight, he would be more approachable on the subject.

"Right", I sighed. "You're not going to school today! Neither are you leaving the house, is that understood?"

He nodded without turning to face me, and as he has not disobeyed any direct orders yet. I left him alone.

Dreading the confrontation with the other participant in the fight, I descended the stairs again. Jasper still was a mass of snarling growling vampire, fighting against Emmett's and Peter's attempts at holding him down with a vengeance. His face was contorted with rage, venom dripping from his mouth. Esme was upset and scared at seeing him like that, her eyes were pleading with me to help him.

"Jasper?" I asked in an attempt to get through to him. No reaction.

"Man, calm down, I need to get my bag to go to school with Rosalie. You don't want me to have to take the bus, do you?" Emmett tried good-naturedly, but only got a hiss in return.

"Major, cut it out! You're scaring the natives!" Peter finally screamed into his ear.

He went limp and Emmett let go of him, looking at him in a concerned way. "Are you alright, bro?"

"Jasper, we need to talk!"

"No time, I need to get to school", he answered, all business suddenly, but I noticed that his friends were still wary and Peter had not yet let go of him.

I took one look at his black eyes and told him. "Jasper, you are not going to school today, you need to calm down!"

"The hell I will. Bella's there!" He growled at me standing in his way at the front door, or what was left of that.

"No, Major, you can't do that!" Peter said, simply taking hold of him again and pulling him back with a strength that could only come from decades of training and living on human blood.

Jasper fought against his friend's iron grip, but Charlotte simply slapped him. "No, don't you dare hurt Peter!"

"Hey, Jasper, you can't go to school like this, you'll only eat everyone there. Calm down!" Emmett's calm words finally did the trick. Jasper slumped against Peter and was comforted by both his friends.

When he turned to me to apologize, I just shook my head. I could feel he was truly contrite, I did not need it put into words too. "Please, son, calm down."

"I need to see Bella, I have to talk to her…"

"Sure you do, dear", Esme said kindly, "but not while you're out of control like you are at the moment. I find that work helps calming down, so I would very much appreciate if you and your friends could help tidy up the chaos around here." She waved her hand at the scene of destruction.

"Yes, we will", said Charlotte and pushed the other two toward the splintered door.

"And no more fighting!" Esme gave them a stern look.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Peter and Jasper said at the same time. Charlotte grinned at Esme and me and winked. "I'll watch them, don't worry!"


	17. Chapter 17

_**Ok, this is not my longest chapter, but I thought that you'd rather have a short chapter than none at all. School has started again, and things have been quite mad around here. Anyway, on with the story…**_

_**Still don't own twilight, but definitely enjoy playing around with it and getting all your wonderful reviews. Keep up the good work!**_

16

Bella's POV

I had really been shaken by Jasper's behavior the day before – I had no idea why he was so angry with me, and why he would behave so threateningly. I was scared by the way he had looked, almost inhuman, and the hard way he had pushed me. From what I gathered during Charlotte's phone call, he had somehow got it into his head that I was together with Edward, which made him madly jealous. I am not sure I want to be with someone so possessive, no matter how flattering it would be to actually cause such deep emotions in anyone. So at first I was relieved when Charlie threw him out. When I looked at his face however, I changed my mind. There was so much pain, and I cannot bear the thought of him being hurt and me not able to comfort him – how would do that when he is as spitting mad as he was, I don't know.

I was approaching the next day with apprehension. What would he say about what had been bugging him, and how he had gotten into the house in the first place? And would he finally tell me what was on his mind about me? I know how I feel about him, completely irrational, every rational fiber in my body tells me to stay away from the man, but the thought of doing so, scares me and causes a stinging pain in my heart. In the end it turned out that he was not at school at all. Neither was Edward – strange. When I asked Alice about it, she simply ignored me. I have the feeling that she is slightly unstable, nice one day and hating me the next. Is that why they are supposed to be difficult? It's a shame Charlotte suppressed her number when she called me last night, now I can't even call her back and make her tell me what's going on.

At least the problem of the Spring Dance invitation is solved. Mike asked Jessica, and it looks as if Angela has found someone as well. They talked about going to Port Angeles after school to have a look at some dresses there during the lunch break.

"Oh, would you mind if I came along?" I asked, having decided to try again to get my social life going.

"No, that would be great. Who are you going with?" Jessica asked at once. She had been a bit edgy with me the last few days, but is fine now hat Mike has asked her.

"I'm not going… I…" Basically I wanted company and I had also not been to Port Angeles to check out the bookstores.

"Of course you're coming", Angela beamed at me. "I need your opinion on everything I try. I'm so nervous to look like a beanstalk."

So the matter was settled, and I called Charlie to let him know where I was going. "You're not meeting that Hale guy, are you, Bells?"

"No, I just told you, I'm going shopping with the girls. Clothes shopping."

He huffed, but did not say anything about it if he was still suspicious. I guess it's in the nature of his job not to be too trusting.

Being out with the girls was fun for a while, but when it turned out that Jessica was determined to try on every dress there was at the only clothes store in town, I became I a bit impatient. Angela of course noticed it first and gently prodded me along to do my own shopping and meet back up at the Italian for dinner as planned.

It took me quite a while to find the bookstore I wanted, and when I did it turned out to be something so stuffed with all kinds of esoteric stuff that it was no use to me after all. I did not even go in, I could see from the window it was not my kind of shop. My long search however had caused me to lose the little sense of direction I have; in other words I had no idea how to get back to the main shopping area, much less to the restaurant where we had parked the car. I stumbled around for a while, hopelessly lost, and it was quickly becoming dark when I finally admitted to myself that I had gone completely off the map. Around me were only industrial buildings, and the only people I could see, were I couple of young men, who I had noticed earlier. They had seemed quite loud and rowdy then, carrying around six packs of beer and hollering across the road. I was not comfortable talking to them, and during my attempts at regaining my bearings I had instinctively been trying to lose them. When I still found them near me I realized they had been following me around. My breath caught: they had been herding me into these unpopulated streets, where now I found myself without support. Great. I fished in my pocket for my cell phone, but when I had got that out and going, they had already come close, forming a ring around me. This was not looking good. I tried to remember what I could from a course in self-defense Renee had made me take back in Phoenix, but though I knew I was supposed to scream and run, I was not sure which would be more effective – if any – in this situation.

The men kept coming closer to me, and now they had me circled, laughing at each other and making dirty jokes, only half of which I understood. They reeked of alcohol and smoke, and something I could not name. By now they were so close that I could almost touch them – not that I wanted to. Even though it looked like they were not primarily interested in my handbag I thought I might try one last thing. I decided to throw my handbag at them if needed – they were welcome to the bit of cash I had put in there – and make a run for it, when the dark alley was suddenly lit by the headlights of a sleek dark car that fishtailed toward them. It stopped an inch from the tallest man's toes, and a tall figure got out. "Don't touch her!" he hissed in a voice so angry that I almost did not recognize it as Jasper's.

My attackers started giggling and sneering at the lone man who had come to disturb their idea of fun, but stopped when they were suddenly pulled aside and thrown across the alleyway. I had not even seen Jasper move, but here he was, in front of me, and between me and the guy who seemed to be the leader of the group. "Bella, get in the car!" He told me curtly, and I was about to do so, when the leader pulled out a knife.

"Now what? Are you in this fight or not?" he taunted Jasper.

Jasper shook his head. "You don't want to be in a fight with me."

"And why would that be, pretty boy?" It was obvious that he felt in control of the situation, and I was getting scared for Jasper.

"Jasper, just let's go, they did not hurt me." I tried pulling him along, but found I could not move him at all.

He was crouched and looking at his opponent through slit eyes. When the other man lunged at him, knife first, I was sure he was going to slice Jasper open, but the only sound I heard was that of metal touching stone. Then I heard a growling sound, like a lion, which was coming from inside Jasper. At that sound - and presumably Jasper's look – the other man finally backed off. He was not fast enough though, because Jasper jumped and was on him so quick that he toppled over. Now my former attacker was beneath Jasper, who was still growling, his lips pulled back from his teeth.

I swallowed. "Jasper, no. Don't hurt him, he … is not worth you getting into trouble again. Just let him go!". I was not going to stand by while Jasper murdered that man, which he was sure to do, though he had no weapon I could see.

He started and turned to me, and his face softened. He let go off the man and got up, still straddling his opponent though. "I thought I had told you to get in the car."

"I will if you do."

He shook his head and smiled crookedly. "All right." He knocked the man out and was sitting next to me in the car the next second. "Where to?"

"Whose car is this?" I asked. It was a car I had not seen before, and even I knew it was expensive, more expensive than what the usual foster child could pay.

"Mine", he answered. "Darlin', tell me where to go from here or I might head back to those… bastards."

"I… eh… I was supposed to meet with Jessica and Angela at a restaurant." I gave him the name and address, and he started driving so quickly that I was pressed back into the seat. "But… I'd rather arrive there alive, if that's ok", I said once I had got my breath back.

He snickered and slowed down. "Sorry! I'm a very safe driver, you don't have to worry."

"Mm, famous last words", I mumbled to myself and was surprised when he snickered at that as well, but at least he slowed down and came to a halt next to the restaurant I had been looking for without success.

Jessica and Angela were just coming out and stopped in their tracks when they saw us approaching. Jessica looked at me full of reproach while Angela smiled.

"I'm sorry I am so late, I got lost…"

"I helped her out", Jasper said at once and turned his killer smile on them.

"We have already eaten, we waited for an hour, but we were hungry… and …" Jessica clearly did not know how to respond to the situation.

"If you need to get home, I can drive Bella back myself. I just want to make sure she gets something to eat as well."

I could see my friends melting under his smile and they were gone without so much as a glance to me.

"Can I invite you for a meal at this restaurant?" Jasper asked, turning his smile on me now.

I sighed. My belly had started grumbling at that moment, and besides there was no way of getting home other than accepting his offer or calling Charlie to get me, which I would rather not do.

"Yes, but I'd like some answers from you."

"I will answer every question you ask, I promise." Jasper's face was serious, and he held the door for me. "Besides, I would do anything for an evening with you, Darlin'." He seemed quite giddy, and the promise of finally finding out what was going on must have been the last thing that kept me going, because once we were seated, my legs felt like jelly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hooray – the next chapter! Sorry to keep you waiting so long, but at the moment time is a luxury I don't have much of. I still enjoy the reviews, and thanks to all who read and added the story. **

**Twilight still doesn't belong to me.**

17

Jasper's POV

I had been determined to talk to Bella after school. It was strange to Peter and Charlotte that I would give in to Carlisle's judgment about not going to school so easily, but truth be told, it was not that hard. I respect the man, and if the fiction or legend here is that the head of the coven is the family father, then be it. I have never felt better with other vampires than with this family who have given me the opportunity to exist without constant pain from killing people. Besides, Esme's feelings had become kind of a drug to me. If she felt good, it meant she was radiating love and positive energy to such an extent as to make me high.

All that however did not keep me from trying to talk to Bella after I had had more than enough time to calm down. While I waited in the woods next to her house, I thought what I would say to her, how I could explain what the connection was between us. I was so caught up in my thoughts that at first I did not notice that far too much time had passed and she was still not home. Suddenly Peter appeared at my side and pushed me toward my car. "Hey!" I exclaimed, not prepared to be manhandled by my oldest friend twice in a day.

Charlotte was sitting in the passenger seat, surprise written all over her face. "Don't ask me, he just got up and raced us over here." We both looked at Peter questioningly, when Alice came to a screeching stop in Edward's car right next to us.

"Jasper, you've got to go to Port Angeles, right now. Bella's going to be in danger!"

"That's what I wanted to say!" Peter almost looked peeved that Alice had beaten him to it.

Charlotte giggled at her husband's expression, but I almost shook him. "Where? How? When?"

"I can draw a picture for you", Alice offered. "I think it's down near the harbor, you should be able to find her from there." Her fingers were flying across the paper, and she handed me a sketch after a minute. Charlotte had already left the car and handed the keys over to me. "Go, take care of her!"

I was far too nervous to say good bye to my friends and sped away.

If I hit the brake once during the drive to Port Angeles, I don't know. I only breathed out after I had found the spot Alice had drawn, and even from afar I could feel Bella's fear and a cocktail of feelings from the thugs around her that made me growl. Obviously, I wanted her away from them as fast as possible, equally as obviously Bella did not obey. She simply is not the kind of girl who just does as she is told without knowing what's going on, and I probably would not like her if she was. What made me almost drunk was that the only feelings I got from her were fear about my wellbeing and love. When that pathetic idiot attacked me with his knife, she almost fainted, and I could feel such anger and protectiveness from her that I would almost have let him get away. In the end, I just knocked him out – Bella was more worried about me getting into trouble for hurting him than about him getting hurt – and left after I had made a quick call to Pete and Char about taking care of the gang.

Bella agreed to have dinner with me, well, she did not have much of a choice, but now that I knew how she felt about me, I did not care. Besides, I was fairly sure that she was about to pass out from the shock etc.

We found a quiet table and ordered drinks from the flirty waitress, and I made sure that she had lots of sugar to cope with the aftereffects of shock.

"What are you going to eat?" She asked me glancing across the menu with a calculating look.

"Eh, I'm not hungry, but you just go ahead."

She nodded and I saw a small smile flit across her lips. She had been really pale when she sat down, and now her color slowly started returning after her drink. I pushed mine towards her and she gulped it down as well. "I hadn't even known I was that thirsty." She said while I signaled the waitress for refills.

"So why weren't you in school today?" She asked once the waitress had taken our order.

"I had a fight with Edward, and Carlisle thought it better if we stayed home for the day."

"Aha." Eyebrows raised.

"I found out he had been stalking you, been into your room without your knowledge and lost it…"

"He had been what?" She gasped, then shook her head. "Will you get into trouble for the fight?"

I smiled. "Not anymore, and I don't think he will continue his creepy routine."

"Do you always solve conflicts with violence?" Wary.

"No, I'm… I think I could be a very peaceful guy given the right circumstances. He was getting too close to the woman I love and I could not let that happen."

She blushed furiously, and I felt overwhelming joy mixed in with the apprehension about the violence. "I see." She hid behind her hair.

The waitress brought our refills and took Bella's order. After she had gone, I took her hand. I had a need to touch her like never before, and she did not pull away.

"Your skin is… quite cold", she whispered, "and you are really fast and strong. You don't eat or drink."

I held my breath. Here it comes. I held her gaze into my eyes, knowing they had gone dark with my excitement.

"And your eyes change color", she said, still not pulling away. "Are you a vampire?"

I nodded, expecting her to pull away now, but she didn't. "And Edward knows. IS that why he is so worried about you near me?"

I blinked and shook my head slightly.

Then I could feel her intake of breath. "He is as well? They all are? But …. How ? And Dr. Cullen?"

"We don't kill people. We live off animals." I sent her a small wave of calm, hoping she would not freak out on me in the restaurant, but there was still no need.

"So the jail story…" Her eyes started shining.

"Was a cover story for why I came so late." I was just hoping she would not freak out once she knew what I had actually been doing in the past.

"Why did you arrive here so shortly before me?"

I shook my head. This girl was far too clever for her own good. I had to come clean right now. "Bella, you… mean a lot to me… When we fall in love, we do it forever, and…" I told her how I had met her and about how I had thought meeting her up here to finally come closer to her would be better, and how stupid I had felt about my darkish way about approaching her. She listened to me spellbound, shoveling her ravioli into her mouth automatically without breaking eye-contact.

"You've been waiting for three years", she looked at me when I finally shut up, her eyes full of love.

"Three years is nothing in my lifetime." How did I come to deserve her?

She got up, still holding on to my hand. "Let's get out of here."

I couldn't believe my luck, dumped a bill on the table and followed her to my car. Once we were inside, I asked. "Where to, Ma'am?"

"Forks, Washington, in a little while." She turned to me and kissed me. I had not been taken by surprise like that in more than a century, but I definitely liked it.

When she pulled away for some air after a while, I pulled her into my lap and played with her hair. "Why are you not scared?"

"I'm sure you won't hurt me. I feel nothing but love from you, and now that I know why you were so … impatient that Saturday, I feel there's nothing to fear from you. Besides, I would do anything to be with you." She hid her face against my chest, only to raise her head a minute later. "Was that you?"

"Was what me?" I was confused.

"That… purring sound, like a very content cat." She hid a giggle.

"That… eh, that might have been me. I… I've heard we do that sometimes."

"Aha, heard?"

"I don't think I've done it before." I had only heard Peter do it, and obviously Emmett and Carlisle since I had moved in.

"You have not been loved in a long time", she stated and curled against me.

I took a deep breath. "Bella, I will lose it if you keep doing that, and it's not such a good idea for the two of us ending up in jail for making out in the street."

She snickered. "No, indeed not. Ok, drive me home then, but I want to see you tomorrow, you hear that?"

"Don't worry, I will not let you out of my sight, darlin'."

On the way home we talked about sweet nothings and by the time I got her home, she was yawning, about to fall asleep in my car. I knew it was not because of boredom, but because the aftereffects of the adrenaline surge had set in. I loved watching her and was determined to make sure Edward did not get into her room again. I was not sharing that sight with the creep.

I prodded her gently. "Bella, you have to get up, I can't carry you in."

"Huh?" She jerked upright. "Oh", she got her bearings. "Good night, Jasper!" She kissed the tip of my nose gently.

I sighed. "Good night, Darlin'. See you soon!"

She staggered out and went inside, where I heard her tell her dad about the outing and the late meal which had made her tired.

Twenty minutes later she was in her room and gasped at me lounging on her bed. "How…?"

"Vampire." I smiled at her and felt a wave of lust coming my way. Oh god, this girl was going to be the death of me. "I wanted to make sure you were tucked in well."

"I see."

"I also wanted to tell you that we won't be in school tomorrow, because the weather's going to be sunny."

"Would that burn you?" She was concerned-

"No, but it would definitely out us." She pouted, and I felt sadness at not seeing me the next day.

"Look at the bright side: You will be able to follow the lessons undistracted."

She threw a cushion at me playfully. "Will I see you after school?"

I had already been thinking about that myself. "Yes, why don't you come to the house after school, to… meet the family." I wanted to make sure they knew she was mine – possessive, I know, but I couldn't help myself.

"Where do you live?"

"Ah – hm. Ok, come by here, and I'll pick you up."

"Good. Now about that tucking in…"

I could tell she was about to fall off her feet, so I simply swept her up and put her under her covers. "Sleep well, Darlin'. I'll dream about you till I see you again."

"Mmmmm." Nothing could be seen of her apart from her hair.

I left one happy vampire at last.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Still don't own twilight.**_

_**Sorry to have kept you waiting so long again. I hope the next updates will be quicker. I have the story outlined in my head, so it should not really take that long again. Anyway, tell me what you think, I read and enjoy every review, though I rarely answer them – that would make the updates even slower **_

18

Bella's POV

I did not sleep a lot that night, tossing and turning about what had happened. My rational self warned me against getting involved in all this, but I already knew it was too late. There was no way I was going to be able to stay away from Jasper. Apparently that falling in love thing forever was contagious, and even though there might be lots of reasons to stay away from him (above all that he might want to eat me, or at least his family would be sorely tempted), but they did not count at all.

Somehow I got through school the next day, not taking in a lot, I have to admit, and as soon as the last period was finished I hurried to my car to get away. Jessica had been pestering me about how I had met Jasper in Port Angeles – she clearly thought we had had a secret date, which she found very romantic, and I feared that she would try to catch me after school if I wasn't quick.

My old truck wheezed with the speed I made it go, and I made it home in record time. Jasper was already waiting for me in his car. I waved and smiled, and after having dumped my book bag inside, I hurried to greet him. He looked even more gorgeous that I remembered him, and I felt almost giddy with luck at the thought that this wonderful man was in love with me. His arms were around me as soon as I was inside, and he took his sweet time kissing every part of me he could reach, mumbling something about it having been far too long since our last kiss.

"Maybe", I said when I had gotten my breath back after a while, "we should move away from here, or the neighbors will notice your car and tell Charlie about me in some stranger's car.

"Not a good idea", he agreed, and pulled into the road. He drove us outside of Forks until he found a small hidden road leading further into the forest, which in turn led to the house of the Cullen family.

"Ready to face a house full of vampires?" He smiled at me crookedly.

"I don't think you will let them harm me." I said. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I gave in. "Ok, I'm nervous about meeting your family. What if they don't like me?"

He snickered, shaking his head. "You don't have to be introduced if you're nervous. I just thought you might like to get to know my surroundings as well."

I nodded thankfully and let go of a breath I hadn't known I was holding. He took my hand and led the way to a big building with lots of glass. When we came in, he wrapped his arm around my waist leading me to a room that could only belong to him. Lots of books crowded the bookshelves, there were black and white photos of Southern landscapes on the walls and a guitar leaned against a very comfortable looking chair lazily. The window overlooking an amazing garden was open, a vase with some spring flowers sat on the orderly desk beneath it.

"Hi Bella", a voice said from the bed in the corner. A tall blond man in a black shirt and washed out jeans was lounging there. He had made me jump and something like a growl came from next to me.

"Peter? Are you in Jasper's room?" Charlotte dashed in a split second later. Somehow that must have given a bad conscience to the blond vampire: He was up in no time and at the door with his girlfriend. "Sorry, I only wanted to say hello to her", he apologized to Jasper. "I did not mean to scare you, li'l Bella."

"It's ok", I said. "Hi Charlotte. Is this the boyfriend you told me about?"

She nodded, and Jasper boxed the other man's arm. "Bella, meet Peter, who for all intents and purposes is my brother. You have already met Charlotte, his wife." It was clear he was not encouraging them to stay, and they certainly got the message and left.

"And?" Jasper asked.

"I like it", I said after taking a look around and feeling his apprehension. "And I like your friends, Charlotte is great, and she would never be with someone who was not worth it."

Jasper's face lit up with a smile, and for a moment it seemed as if he was filling the room with happiness as well. "I love you, darlin'. I would never have thought I could find this much happiness with anyone."

"You don't sound as if you had a good time these past few… eh… years?" Decades? Centuries? I was flustered. What was the etiquette about asking a vampire about his past? Was that considered bad behavior? "How old are you?" I asked sheepishly.

"Around 160, so you might want to reconsider getting involved with such an old man", he quipped but I could sense he was tense about the whole thing.

I tried to hide my surprise at this news by casually asking. "Do you want to tell me what you've done with all that time?"

At once I regretted my question. His face looked so pained that I came forward and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to pry."

"I know." He hung his head.

"You don't have to tell me anything." I played with his hair, running my hands through his locks.

"Maybe later I will, you need to know some things, but…." He broke off again, then took a deep breath. "My existence so far has been a nightmare… I was a nightmare until I found you."

I found myself becoming incredibly angry at whoever had made his life the hell it must have been. The anger disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and Jasper fixed his golden eyes on me. "I'm much better now, I've even found a way to live without killing, and I have you with me, darlin'."

He pulled me close again and let his hands wander my body. Soon I found mine doing the same and we landed on his bed in no time. There was so much tenderness and love between us, and now that I knew his feelings about me, I was much more confident in what we were doing. I enjoyed his attention and craved the feeling of his body near mine, even when he was becoming more and more passionate. He started purring again, and then suddenly growled. "Bella, I can't stop, I need you now, I need to make you mine. Please…"

At that moment the door flew open and Jasper was pulled off me by a creature growling furiously.

"What the…?" I wondered when the room became even more crowded with Peter rushing in followed by Charlotte who dashed toward me and tried to pull me back.

Jasper had thrown off the intruder and now stood facing him – that is Edward – glorious in his rage and fearsome at the same time.

"Charlotte, no, he will not have her leave the room now, get down!" Peter called to his girlfriend, and she reacted by letting go off me and crouching down in some sort of deferential position.

Jasper was growling at Edward now, they were circling each other like lions about to pounce and there was not a lot of human left in both of them.

Peter's POV

Holy shit! That idiot of a douchebag Edward had somehow got it into his head to drag away the Major's mate at the most idiotic moment imaginable. And my intuitive wife was having the bright idea of trying to get her away from the fighting, completely ignoring the fact that Jasper was in full Major mode. He would probably have torn both of them to bits too small to burn. Man, he had already threatened me just for greeting her when they came in. At least Char reacted when I warned her and got out of his eye line.

Edward of course did no such thing, he was challenging Jasper with a brazen courage that can only be summed up as monstrous stupidity. OK, he is a mind reader, but I'm pretty sure that there were not a lot of conscious thoughts in the Major's mind right now. I have never seen him angrier, and I have seen him angry plenty.

Quite a few of the other Cullens had arrived in the doorway by now and were watching the show – not a good idea either. I'm not sure how many of us will get out of this this intact.

Just when Jasper was about to attack though, Bella called him. "Jasper!"

Oh god, I only hope it's true that we can't hurt our mates, because she is far too fragile to be in the middle of this right now, and I don't really want to lose her so soon after getting to know her at last.

"Jasper, no, you don't need to fight anyone. Just come back to me." She stepped forward to touch his shoulder lightly and you could hear a collective intake of breath from the vampires around.

We saw Jasper close his eyes briefly and shudder at her touch, then he pulled her close and protected as much of her as he could with his body, growling at Edward. "Mine!"

The doctor and the burly brother got hold of Edward and pulled him back with quite an effort, while the little girl Alice tried to calm him down, which he would not have.

"He wants to kill her, I heard it in his head, he is about to drain her. Let me go!" He screeched fighting against the others.

Jasper answered this with another feral growl, and they pulled Edward further away from him.

"Edward, you need to get out of here. He is wild, and he is protecting his mate."

"Protecting?" Edward scoffed, and Carlisle sighed.

"Bella, are you alright?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"Of course I am. Jasper would never hurt me." She curled into his arms, and he literally melted.

"I think we are superfluous here", Esme said smiling and pushed the others out resolutely. "Edward, you need to hunt with Emmett and Carlisle. Girls, I need you to drive to Port Angeles with me, I want to take a look at a new antiques store."

The only sound left was a continuous purring and I blinked: This slip of a human girl had just done what no one had ever accomplished before. I smiled at Charlotte stupidly and we were the last to leave the room.


	20. Chapter 20

_**You won't believe it, but it's true: another chapter, and a long one. I'm sick home doped with antibiotics, so that's where the time came from. Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think!**_

_**Twilight doesn't belong to me, unfortunately.**_

19

Bella's POV

When the others had finally tiptoed out, I asked. "Who was that woman?"

He smiled. "That was Esme, Carlisle's wife. She is the most loving vampire, well, the most loving person I've ever met. It is not common for us to live with others peacefully, but here it's a family, and she is the mother."

"I can imagine that", I said. She had definitely looked like she could sort out all those volatile tempers. Jasper had turned to the window and become very quiet. He looked deeply perturbed.

"What is it?"

"I… let you down again. I lost it and turned monster near you… How can you bear me anywhere close to you, Bella?" He was facing away from me, and I saw how tense he was.

"Jasper?"

He hung his head even lower. "How long till you leave me because you have realized what kind of creature I am?"

"Jasper, did you not hear me tell Dr. Cullen I was fine with you? You were angry at Edward for crashing in on us like he did, and I was too."

He gave me a crooked smile. "Yes, but I did not see you behaving like a wild beast to the others in the room."

"Believe me, it was not for want of trying", I growled, which caused him to laugh. "Honestly, Jasper, if you're not human, how can I expect you to behave like a human?" He still did not look convinced, so I added. "Can you tell me something more about this 'mate' thing?"

He sighed. "It's… kind of strange, and a bit primeval, I think. Alright, when we fall in love, that is, meet the vampire we're supposed to be with, a bond is formed. We need to be with that other person; we crave them and will defend them at all costs. It is a bond which cannot be broken easily."

"Why are you worried about me leaving you then?" I asked.

"Because you're not a vampire, and even Carlisle hasn't found anything about vampire-human mating so far. Besides, Edward is also convinced you're his."

"What? Well, I don't feel anything about him, but I felt something for you right from the start."

He gave me one of his amazing smiles briefly before his face darkened again and nodded. "Yes, but that could also be because of my gift."

"What gift?"

"I am empathic, Bella. I can feel other people's emotions…"

"But then you should know how I feel about you", I interrupted him. I felt as if I was in information overdrive, but was confident that Jasper would help me cope.

"Well, yes", he said, "but that is not all. I can also influence them, and I love you so much that I might have…"

I shook my head. "Your radar must be way off balance if you think that, Jasper Hale. I've never been in love before, and now I am, and with you and not your brother, do you understand that? Besides, why on earth should I prefer Edward to you?"

He turned away again shuffling his feet nervously. "Because he's handsome, polite, good-looking, and because he is not broken like me."

I got in front of him. "He is nothing compared to you. You take my breath away, and if I weren't sure that even I could not invent anything as absurd as this I would be sure I was dreaming that someone as gorgeous and wonderful as you was even thinking about me." I got on tiptoes and kissed him again, hoping that there was a way to dispel his fear of rejection and make him realize just how precious he was to me. I would really have to talk to Charlotte about what it was in Jasper's past that had made him come to such a low opinion of himself. But I had another question first. "So, when vampires are mated, they stay together forever, right?"

He nodded.

"What happens when one of them… dies?"

His look back gave me the answer.

"You would die if I died?" I whispered.

"Not… directly, I think, but… it hurts too much, that's why we're so possessive and protective of the other."

"I don't want you to hurt", I curled into his arms.

"I'm not the vulnerable one here", he snickered. "Do you have any idea what it was like watching you go in and out of ERs these last three years?"

"Oh…"

He pulled me onto his lap sitting down on his bed again. "But now you're here, and things will be better."

We resumed where we had been before we were so rudely interrupted until the doorbell was rung with a vengeance.

Charlie's POV

When I came home that evening our neighbor was working in his garden. Bella's truck was parked out front, so I went in quickly in order not to keep her waiting with my dinner for too long.

"I'm back!" I hollered when I was inside kicking off my shoes.

No answer.

"Bells?"

Still no answer. I saw her backpack lying at the foot of the stairs, so she must have come in after school, but where was she now? Had she gone out with the girls again? Last night seemed to have been a success; she had been all flush and excited when she came in. I checked the answering machine – nothing.

Strange. I strolled into the kitchen thinking, when I had a bad premonition. I got back into my shoes and went outside.

"Chad?"

"Huh?"

"Did you see Bella at all this afternoon?"

He took off his baseball cap and scratched his head. "Yeah, think I did. She came home after school and then got into a black car that had been waiting for her. Same car that brought her home last night, some tall fellow inside.

"Thanks, Chad." I tried not to let him know just how angry I was. I had booked Jessica Stanley often enough for false parking to know she did not drive a black car. So little Miss had been lying to me two days running, and I could just imagine a cause for that.

I got back into the cruiser and drove out to the Cullen residence, where – surprise, surprise – I found a black car parked outside the garage.

I rang the doorbell furiously. Much as I liked the doctor, this was certainly going too far.

The door was opened by Hale himself, looking like sex on legs wearing only low-hanging jeans. At least he had the grace to look taken by surprise. "Chief Swan?"

"Mr. Hale, I believe my daughter is here?"

Bella appeared the next second, her hair untidy, her face in high color, rushing down the stairs and falling over her own feet as usually. Somehow Hale caught her in his arms and she seemed quite comfortable there.

I had planned to go about this whole thing rationally, but the sight of my baby with this young man was enough to push me over the edge. "Bella, I want you to get in my car and wait outside."

"Char…. Dad, it's not… I can explain…"

"Oh yes, you will do some explaining, young lady, for example, how you came to be lying about your whereabouts for the last two days, and why you're out with this jailbird when I expressly forbid you to see him. You're grounded!" Bella hung her head and started walking toward the door.

"Don't talk to Bella like that!" Hale hissed at me, his eyes dark slits in a furious face.

His tone stopped my daughter, and she went back to him immediately. "No, Jasper!"

"What, are you scared he's going to try and beat me up?" I scoffed. Although his quiet tone had sounded extremely threatening, I was not really worried about a confrontation with a nineteen year-old.

"Please, both of you, just calm down!" Bella pleaded, touching the angry youngster in front of me.

Her hand on this half-naked man was the last straw. "You are not seeing him again. Bella, get out, now!"

"Charlie!" She turned to me, her eyes full of tears.

"Now I said!" I repeated louder than necessary.

"I love him, he is very important to me."

"I told you several times to keep away from him."

Bella's eyes were brimming over, a sight I had never been able to bear. I turned my rage where it belonged. "And you, young man, do I have to remind you she is underage? I would have thought you're in enough trouble as it is!"

The infuriating man ignored me, put his arm around Bella and comforted her.

"Hey, you!" I bellowed at him. "Keep your hands off my daughter!"

"Are you threatening me?" He asked in a disbelieving tone. He let go off her though, and took a step toward me.

Bella took a sharp breath and got between the two of us again, turning to me. "Please don't make me choose!" My heart almost stopped. My baby was telling me she would choose this man over me, and I knew she would. She was her mother's daughter after all. What should I do? I could not leave her with this… violent young man.

Our very tense stand-off was interrupted quite suddenly. "Hi ya, Jasper, isn't it a bit cold to be out like that?" A tall blond man who could be this guy's brother appeared out of nowhere and slapped his shoulder. Did you completely forget we were coming to pick you up? See, Charlotte, I told you, he had forgotten us. Get some clothes, man, we're going to the concert in Seattle." He was holding hands with a petite blonde girl, the same who had been in our kitchen the day before yesterday.

His whole attitude was so laid back that it seemed inappropriate to continue the conversation. "Bella? Your friend is going out. Let me take you home."

For a brief moment I had the impression Hale was going to stop her from coming along, but the girl put her hand on his arm and he let her pass.

Bella got into the cruiser without speaking, and the silence continued all the way back home. When we got in, she dashed up the stairs and banged the door to her room.

Great! Good job, Charlie! I congratulated myself. I made myself a sandwich and got a beer from the fridge in an effort to let her cool down. After an hour I went upstairs and knocked. "Bells?"

"Go away!"

"Bella, don't be so childish…"

"I'm childish? I thought you were mad because I had a boyfriend!"

Oh dear, her temper was out. That made two of us. I entered the room and sat down in the old rocking chair that had been there since she was a baby. "No, I'm mad because you lied and disobeyed me, and because you're spending time alone with a highly undesirable young man."

She rose from her prostrate position on the bed and I could see that she had been crying some more. "Dad, you cannot tell me to stay away from him. I can't do that."

I made an exasperated noise. "Yes, you can. Even his adoptive father warned me about him. I saw him pushing you around in our own house. What more proof do you need that that is not the kind of guy you get involved with?"

"You don't know him at all. He is kind and shy, and I love him."

"Bella, I have heard that, and I know you believe you do that, but I'm still your father and responsible for you. I don't want you to go and see him anymore, do you understand that? And you are grounded for a week at least!"

"Dad!"

"No. Don't make things worse by disobeying me again, or I will have to tell your mother that I can't handle you and she has to take you back." The idea of Bella leaving here cut me to the heart, I don't think I could bear living alone again. I would have to talk to the doctor about that boy again, maybe he could make him see reason.

Bella gave me one tear-filled look and turned away.

Knowing she would not be talking to me again that night, I gave up and left.

Excellent, Charles Swan, you've just won the father of the year award there. I tried to calm down in front of the TV, and probably fell asleep there as usual. Maybe I should talk to Billy about how to deal with your daughter having a boyfriend?


	21. Chapter 21

**OK – this chapter is going up now. It's been so long in the writing (I've been really busy again), and if I put all the other action I want in there in, the wait would be even longer for you. So, sorry for the slight cliffhanger, more to come **

**Twilight does not belong to me.**

20

Bella's POV

The one thing that could get in between Jasper and me had to happen. I have no idea what to do now. I'm just not the person to lie (everybody knows when I try that anyway) and disobey my father. I love him far too much for that, besides, I know just how lonely he must have been before I moved back here, but on the other hand there is no way I'm going to give up Jasper, and if Charlie insists on making me choose, I will choose Jasper. There must be a way to get around this, there simply must!

When I came back from the bathroom, Jasper was lounging on my bed again. The next second however, he had me in his arms. "Shh, you don't need to cry or worry, I told Esme what happened, and she's going to talk to your father."

"I'm not sure what good that will do", I mumbled against his chest.

"Umm… don't give up yet, I don't think there were many men who were able to deny Esme anything during her lifetime, and I'm quite sure there's not one right now. She said she would go and see him first thing tomorrow. She is incredibly happy about me having found you and very determined to add another daughter to her family."

I looked up at his face, his eyes shining with happy anticipation. "You seem to be sure of it."

He nodded. "Yes, now I've got you, I have this insane feeling that I can do anything. Darlin', I need to leave. Carlisle wants me to talk to some people…"

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

He smiled crookedly. "You could try to keep me away, but I would not get my hopes up on that if I were you." He kissed me comprehensively. "Sleep well, Darlin'!"

When I had my breath back and my heart was almost back where it belonged there was no sign of him anymore. He must have gone out the window. I sniffed. Hmm, a faint trace of his scent was lingering. I closed the window and went to bed, still worrying about Charlie.

Edward's POV

"Wow, I'm gonna have a new sister, she's really cute, and she looks as if she's got quite a lot of spunk in her. This will be so much fun. Excellent!"

"Emmett!" Carlisle tried to stop Emmett's raving about Bella again. This time he must have gotten through though, because my big brother finally shut up. "I need to talk to Edward!"

"Um, eh, yes, alright, Pa. I'll make myself scarce." He took off running into the forest, and Carlisle turned his kind eyes on me.

"Son, you need to face facts."

"What facts? That he will kill the woman I love just to satisfy his… debauched cravings?" I kicked the nearest fir tree and toppled it.

Carlisle sighed. "Edward, she is his mate. That was more than obvious from the way she talked about him, and from the way she calmed him down when he was about to attack you."

"Huh – he does not love her. I heard his thoughts; they were all about…"

Carlisle interrupted me. "He was doing what is natural to us. You could not have stopped Emmett when he saw Rosalie…"

"Emmett…" I rolled my eyes.

"…or me. I thought I would die if Esme took any longer to feed for the first time. I would have killed you if you had tried to stop me then."

"You would not kill anyone."

"I was not myself. That is my point. Jasper has waited for three years, he must be incredibly disciplined. And now that it is clear she reciprocates, there is nothing we can do but help him."

"Help him?" I screamed. "You want to kill her too?"

"They both will suffer if they can't get together, and she knows about us, which puts her in danger from the Volturi, so there is not much of an alternative left, wouldn't you agree?"

I groaned. "Shouldn't we at least think about one? What if she's only blinded by his looks or his gift?"

Carlisle smiled sadly. I could hear it in his head that he was trying to comfort me, but he has always been honest to me and was not going to start lying now. "Any normal human would have been scared out of her wits by his threatening you and would have tried to run, besides, she does not seem to be affected by his gift it seems, or she would have been absolutely furious, the way he was projecting. Maybe it's the same like with your gift. Apart from that, Esme was sure."

It was clear there was no leeway with Carlisle on this. "And what about me?"

_Son, I'm unspeakably sad that you haven't found your mate yet, but it will not do to get in between them; you're only going to suffer doing that. Please, I don't want to lose you._ He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm sure there's someone out there for you."

I snorted. I knew he was wrong. I loved Bella, and I would make sure she would not become Jasper's pet.

When we returned to the house we heard about Bella's father butting in, but it does not look as if that will really be a problem for Jasper and his plans. Carlisle talked to him for a while about Bella, while Esme gushed about her new daughter so much that I was almost sick. When Jasper went off – to talk to Bella again presumably, against her father's orders (unthinkable in my time!) – the rest of the family made nice with those human drinker friends of Jasper. Only Rosalie was not happy about Bella joining us, her reasons are similar to mine. However, I'm not sure how far she would be an ally for me, because she is loyal to Emmett above all, and the big oaf is fascinated by the way the "little human" as he calls her has captured Jasper's heart.

After ten, Carlisle left to meet the Quileute. I knew he wanted to talk to their leader about changing Bella, and was not happy about him asking me to come along to translate in case they were wary of us, but of course I did my duty.

We waited for the pack at the boundary and they turned out in full force – there are six of them now (must be due to Jasper's friends). Jasper arrived in time and I could read in his mind that he was determined to make a success of this mission, which he started by calming everybody down considerably. Then Carlisle explained our problem and asked about an exception from the non-biting rule. At first Sam, the Alpha was not sympathetic, and hope began to rise again in me. But then Jasper drew the ace from his sleeve and told Sam that one of them had actually broken the treaty by letting slip information about us, i.e. Jacob Black had brought Bella herself onto our track, and Sam had to make concessions. When they heard who it was that Jasper had set his eyes on, there was quite a debate in the pack, which ended by them withdrawing in haste. Apparently Jacob is not willing to give us the daughter of his father's best friend.

The next morning however, Sam got back to Carlisle with a compromise suggested by Billy Black himself: Jasper is to wait with changing Bella until after graduation. This way Bella's father gets to keep his daughter for the appointed time, and there won't be the need to do any changing here. They also don't want us to return to the area, for obvious reasons. Another road closed to me, but at least I get some more time, which in truth is what they are hoping for as well. At least now I know what I have to do to save her.

And finally Esme came to the clearing where we had been practicing our fighting skills late, a satisfied smile on her face. Apparently her visit with the Chief had been a success too. I could hear her replaying the visit in her mind: How she had convinced the Chief how good it was for her hitherto misguided nephew to be with someone so innocent and honest as Bella, how much he had changed for the better since he had admitted to having fallen in love with her, and how dejected he had been by the threat of not being able to be with her again. She had manipulated Charlie Swan so much that it had been he himself who had voiced the fear of Jasper slipping back into lawless ways if he did not get to be with his girlfriend. In short: Bella was un-grounded and allowed to see Jasper if someone else was in the house.

I groaned. It looks as if I'm the only one here who is still immune to Jasper's influence. Huh – let's see if I can't get Bella out of his clutches.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Have fun, another chapter!**_

_**Twilight does not belong to me**_

21

Bella's POV

Again I paid no attention whatsoever to the lessons, always looking forward to being with Jasper in the afternoon. Why did school take so long that day?

Finally gym was over and I could leave for home. I still wasn't happy about going against Charlie's wishes, so I called him before I set off for the house. I had planned to tell him that I was going to see Jasper against his wishes, but I was telling him so he would not find me lying again. To my greatest surprise, he was not angry and told me about Esme coming by in the morning and me being ungrounded. He repeated his warnings about Jasper though and told me only to visit him at his home if there were other people around. "But the Doc's wife will keep him in line, I'm sure of that", he finished. "Take care, Bells!"

Hooray!

Sometimes things do turn out just like you want them to. I drove home singing and parked the car rather sloppily when I saw Jasper already parked outside. I did not even dump my book bag inside, but went straight over to the passenger side of the car and got in.

To my surprise the car took off immediately – usually Jasper always kissed me first. When I turned toward him, my heart almost stopped: It wasn't Jasper at all who was driving, it was Edward.

"Stop! I want out! Stop the car right this minute!"

He shook his head and kept driving.

"Hey, this is kidnapping. Let me out!"

"No. I'm going to drive you to Seattle and the airport. Your things are in the back, your ticket is booked."

"Ticket booked? To where? Have you lost your mind?"

"No. You have", he said in that infuriatingly calm voice of his. "You need to get away from Jasper to get some perspective again. I took the liberty of booking you on the next flight to Jacksonville to spend some time with your mother."

"I… Why the hell would you be doing that? I want to go back right now. Jasper wanted to meet me … I…" What the hell was going on with that boy?

"Bella, you're blinded, dazzled by Jasper, by his looks and his gift, but in truth you have no idea what he is like."

"I love him and I want to be back with him", I said stubbornly. "And all of this is none of your business!"

He turned toward me and gave me an earnest look. "But it is, Bella dear. I care about you a lot, too much than let you be with that… monster. He will kill you!" His hands gripping the steering wheel looked as if he was about to break it.

I shook my head. "Jasper will not hurt me, and I'm sorry that you feel that way about me, but I want…"

"You have no idea what he is. Listen to me for once, will you?" His voice had become as angry as I had never heard him before.

"Please calm down. I know he is a vampire, like you, and I know that he only joined you quite recently, so he is still new to your 'vegetarian' lifestyle, but he is absolutely fascinated by it, he loves this life, and…"

Edward interrupted me with a sneering voice. "Do you have any idea how he fed himself before?" Before I could answer, he continued. "He only fed on women, seduced them and then drained them dry."

I swallowed. I had known that he must have killed before he came to live with the Cullens, but obviously I had chosen not to know any details. Yet surely: "And how would you know that?" Somehow I doubted that Jasper's hesitance in speaking about his past was only with me.

"I can read minds, Bella, I can hear people think." Patiently.

"You what?" Oh dear, that was awful!

"Jasper is not the only gifted vampire around." Slightly smug.

I shook my head again. "But then you should know how I feel about Jasper. And about you."

"I can hear everyone's thoughts, even your precious Jasper's, except for yours. You are silent to me, which enables me to actually try to have a normal relationship with you. But you can trust me when I say I know what goes on in the monster's mind."

"Stop calling him that. I love him."

"You wouldn't if you knew him. He killed thousands, Bella, humans and vampires alike."

"Why would he kill vampires?"

He sighed and told me about the vampire wars and Jasper's involvement in them. "We're all killers, except for Carlisle, but Jasper is certainly in a different league altogether. The thought of a sweet girl like you being with that … beast makes me sick, and I'll do anything I can to prevent him harming you."

I closed my eyes for a while. The picture he had painted of my lover was the blackest one imaginable, yet somehow it rang true, especially when I remembered what Jasper himself had said about his past: "I was a nightmare."

"He said he was bad in the past, but he has changed. He did not kill those men who attacked me in Port Angeles."

Edward scoffed. "No, he did not kill them himself, he called his friends to do it for him. I can show you the reports in the local papers about the animal attack on four men near the harbor in Port Angeles that night if you want."

"But… I still love him, and I can't imagine being without him", I told Edward after some minutes of silence.

"Don't you understand that he will kill you one way or another? He might not be after your blood initially, but he could easily lose control if you …try to be with him that way." He sounded as if he would be blushing if he still could. "Or he will… crush you or break you some other way."

"Why would he do that? He's been waiting to be with me for three years!"

Edward reached for a steel tire iron in the glove compartment and crushed it into dust with one hand without effort. "I did not say he would do it intentionally, he's probably not thinking it through. Anyway, he won't get the chance for that, if it's the last thing I do."

"You expect him to threaten you again?" I could imagine Jasper getting extremely angry at this attempt of taking me away from him, but he had said he did not want to become monster like yesterday.

"Open your eyes to reality, Bella, for god's sake", he hissed. "Jasper tore off Alice's hand, and he took off my right arm yesterday morning. Carlisle is worried he will kill me. He is a threat to my whole family, and now he has his old friends here as well, who will do anything he tells them to. If he kills me for taking you away, I don't mind, at least my existence has made some sense then."

I frowned. "I … don't believe you. He is not… like that."

Edward slowed down marginally, took off his jacket and pushed up the short sleeve of his t-shirt to show me a ragged slivery line around his upper arm. "He was about to tear me to bits with his teeth before Esme brought him to his senses again." The jacket was back and he accelerated to the same break-neck speed he had been driving before. "I'm trying to get you out before it's too late for you."

I did not know what to say to that and turned away from him. When I looked at the road ahead, I suddenly noticed a silvery sports car parked across it and a man leaning against the side of the car leisurely. Edward had already started slowing down, but surely at the speed he was going he would crush that man to a pancake and the car to scrap metal, not to mention the way this would turn out for us. I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, we had come to a stop an inch in front of the man's kneecaps. I recognized him as Jasper's tall friend Peter. He gave me a smile. "Hey there, li'l Bella. Mind gettin' into this here car so I can get you back to Jasper?" Then he turned his attention to Edward shaking his head. "As for you: I've seen idiots, bigger idiots, but you fall into a whole new category of idiot. Get the Major's car back pronto, and hope he hasn't figured out what you were doin' here…" He stopped and looked down the road we had come on. "Too late.

The next second a yellow Porsche screeched to a halt behind us and Jasper got out looking like the wrath of god. His eyes were black holes, his whole body was tense. "Bella, are you alright?" He asked in a rough voice. When I nodded, he said: "Please let Peter drive you back, now."

I frowned, and Edward turned to me, sneering again. "He does not want you to see him fighting with me."

"Jasper?" I turned to my enraged friend.

His face told me that Edward had not been lying. He was already growling at his brother. "Peter, take Bella and go ahead to Texas, I'll meet you later."

"What? I can't go to Texas! Charlie will be apoplectic", I squeaked.

By now Alice had gotten out from the yellow car as well and started arguing with Jasper in a very fast way. He was shaking his head at her abruptly.

Edward turned to me again. "He also wants to kill me, and is sure that the family will not keep him then."

"Jasper would not…", I started, but the look at Jasper's face told me otherwise again. The next moment Edward was bending over in pain, even though no one was touching him. I saw Jasper's eyes were fixed on him, and after a minute Edward rasped. "He's using his gift on me. Now do you believe me?"

I did not know what to say or do when Peter took hold of my arm. "Come on, Bells, let's get out of here."

Edward managed to get upright again and got in his way. Peter growled at him menacingly. It was clear he would rather be slaughtered than give up without a fight.

"NO! Stop this right now! Everyone calm down!" I had not known I could scream that loud. At least I finally had the attention of all the vampires present now.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Tadaa! Another chapter, and a very long one. It also took a long time to write, I know. Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think.**_

_**I still don't own twilight**_

22

Bella's POV

Everybody was looking at me, even Jasper who had been on his way to tackle Edward, had stopped in his tracks.

"Eh", I faltered, not sure what to say now. Then I straightened up. "No one is going to kill or be killed on my account here today. I don't want to go to Florida or to Texas either, I want to stay here and finish school. What we have to do right now though, is remove all these cars from the road before we cause a pileup. And now I want to go home and get dinner ready for my dad."

While I was talking I had made my way toward Alice who seemed to be the most rational person present. I was attempting to look way more confident that I actually felt about what I was saying and was walking with my nose in the air. Of course I slipped on one of those wet mossy stones and slid into a low-hanging tree branch, banging my head hard. I sat down to wait for the stars to stop circling my head and felt something warm and moist trickling down my cheek. Oh no! Surely this was the worst place to start bleeding, far too many vampires around.

It seemed as if there was a moment's silence, like the calm before the storm, then a lot of things started happening very fast: Edward was on me with the speed of light, his face contorted and his eyes burning black with thirst. He growled and hissed at Alice who was trying to call him off, until he himself was pulled away by Jasper roaring like an angry lion and looking more vampire than ever before. I saw nothing but extremely fast movement for the next seconds, then Edward lay in the road in a heap, his limbs strangely twisted.

"Burn him!" Jasper told Peter, who had been keeping his distance to the fight.

"No! Please, I'll make sure this never happens again", Alice was clinging to Jasper's arm like a ragdoll, but he pushed her away roughly, kneeling down near me. He was cursing under his breath while he was checking me out. "Bella darlin', this will sting a bit and I need you to keep still, ok?"

I nodded, and he slid his index finger into his mouth and then across what I assumed must be yet another wound on my scalp. It stung like hell, but the bleeding stopped immediately. I breathed out, at least I had not fainted from the smell of my own blood again, as I was used to doing. Jasper then tried to wipe away the blood from my face, and I saw a shudder go through him. He held up his bloody hand and suddenly he looked hungry like Edward. Peter was with him in a second, the same hungry eyes. Then … I must have fainted.

I came to lying on the sofa in our living room. Jasper was sitting by my side, Charlie was standing in the doorway, shaking his head.

"Fallen over your own feet again, Bells? Jasper here convinced me that you would better not be doing any cooking tonight, and that the Doc had said to take it easy for a day. I'm off to the Diner in ten minutes, so if you would like that time to get ready…"

What I wanted far more than any food the Diner could offer was some more time to think about what I was going to do with all the new information and the things that had happened this afternoon, so I nodded and got up.

Jasper took his cue and said his goodbyes, not looking happy about leaving. In fact I could swear I heard a loud crash coming from the forest soon after.

Charlie talked in length about the visit of Mrs. Cullen, who had made quite an impression on him. He attributed my silence at the meal to my fall and the pills the doctor was said to have given me, so he did not push me and drove us back as soon as we were finished.

"Hey Ch… Dad, did you hear about any animal attack in Port Angeles recently?" I finally got the nerve to ask.

He looked rather grim. "Yes, strange that. We've been having these kinds of things out here, but never yet in the bigger towns. Must have been some over-assimilated grizzly or something."

So Edward had been right. Wait! "Here you said?"

"Yup. There have been reports from some of the counties around ours. We're keeping it quiet for the moment so as not to alarm the tourists, but you're not in Phoenix anymore, Bella, better be careful in the woods."

I nodded, shaking inwardly. The woods – my foot. What about school? Or some of the new friends I had acquired? Yes, I really liked Jasper, in fact, I had never been more attracted to anyone or had these strong feelings before, but killing people?

When I came into my room soon after, I jumped a foot in the air. Jasper was standing in the corner, looking extremely tense and pained.

"Bella, please, I need to talk to you, Darlin'."

When I had my breath back, I said: "Could you please not do that? Why don't you come in through the door like all other people? Charlie does not have a problem with you anymore, he was raving about your 'Mom' all evening."

"Yes, but you might not want to talk to me, and then what could I do?" His voice was rough with emotion, and I felt a huge pull to go to him and take him into my arms, but…

"Have you considered that there might be a reason why I would not want to talk to you right now?"

He looked as if I had slapped him. "Did you want to run away from me with Edward?" You could have cut steel on his voice now.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Your things were in the car, you were driving to Seattle, and there was a ticket for you pinned to the dashboard." He was almost shaking. "And you're… different; you're distant and scared of me. Are you disgusted by me?"

"No, I…" I did not know what to say.

Jasper crumpled to the floor in a heap, his face in an expression of pain.

Charlotte's POV

What a mess that boy had made! I had known something was off, when Peter shot from the house like a bat out of hell, cursing like a sailor. Apparently he had some sort of vision or whatever he has and knew Edward was trying to kidnap Bella. When they came back in the early evening without Jasper, and Peter told me that Bella needed to see a doctor, I knew this time the shit had literally hit the fan. I tried to sort it out as best as I could, but had to give up with all those stubborn vegetarians. Peter left in a huff, and I did not have far to go to find him seated in a tree near the Swan house.

I climbed up with him and curled into his lap.

"He's dying in there, I can feel it. We have to help him!" He was holding on to me with a grip that would have squeezed the life out of me had I still been human.

"Shh, honey, I'm sure it will work out." I tried to calm him down and stop him from barging in on Jasper and Bella in her room. I was sure that the last thing that girl needed was another vampire materializing in her private space. I was equally sure that had I not come there in time, Peter would already have been inside. This big badass Texan vampire is a mimosa where his friend is concerned; overly protective would be the understatement of the century when describing their relationship.

"No, Pete, Jasper will have to deal with this. He needs to let her know what he is like. There is no way she can become his mate if she does not know him for what he is."

"But he's scared she'll run from him screaming!" my big boy protested at once.

I sighed. We had been there a thousand times over the past few years. "Peter, we both know she won't if she is his mate, and you certainly can't have her choose our life based on a lie."

"It would not be a lie…" he started, but I silenced him with a stare.

"No. Come along now, I'm quite sure he does not need an audience for that." I dragged him along.

Jasper's POV

She was going to leave me, I knew it. She was going back to her mother in Jacksonville, Florida, where I could not be out a lot, and then she would simply ignore me until I could take it no more and left her alone. It had been a nice dream while it lasted, but I should have known that for someone like me there would not be that kind of happy ending. I was kicked out of my thoughts be Bella's voice.

"Jasper?" She whispered. "Are you… you look like you're hurting."

When I didn't answer, she asked. "Did you kill Edward?"

"No, I… wanted to, but Alice … she said I would regret it. She begged for his life, and I gave in." Alice had been adamant, desperate about it. She had refused to budge, when Peter wanted to set Edward on fire, telling me that I had no future with Bella if I went on with that decision. The one argument she knew would count. It had even got Peter to stop in his tracks at once.

"You would have lost your family if you had gone ahead", Bella said calmly.

I scoffed. "I'm not sure I still have them now, this stunt has caused quite a mess at the Cullens."

"Can you tell me what happened this afternoon?"

Edward had left under the pretense of having to hunt, claiming he had not gotten anything the day before. This had been confirmed by Emmett and Carlisle, so I was not suspicious, which changed as soon as Charlotte showed up looking for Peter. Then Alice had flinched and dragged me to her car. "Alice saw you and Edward driving to Seattle…"

"Huh?"

"Ah, ok, Alice can see the future, in a way, it's complicated, and we don't really understand how it works, but anyway, she told me you were going… and I wanted at least to talk to you, and especially get you away…"

Bella was shaking her head. "That was not what I meant. What happened when I …fell down?"

Oh god, yes, she had seen us fight about her like predators over prey. However this was my chance to warn her: "You started bleeding, and Edward, well." I took a deep breath. Great, she was getting all sorts of information about us this way. "Some scents appeal more to us than others", I looked at her to make sure she understood I was talking about blood. She nodded for me to go on. "So sometimes we are really attracted to the blood of one human, like… they are the world's most potent drug, like their blood sings to us."

She took a sharp breath. Of course she could tell I knew what I was talking about. "What happens?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, a nervous habit from human days. "We… it's too attractive not to give in. We usually kill our singers."

"And I'm Edward's singer?" She asked slowly.

I nodded. "I thought I could keep him away and protect you against him. He knows I know, and yes, I have threatened him about it. He has been a vegetarian for more than seventy years, so it seems to be easier for him, but at the beginning it was so bad that he ran away, which was fine by me."

"Ah." She pushed her hair out of her face nervously.

"Then he convinced himself that his relationship to you was one of love and … that he had to…" I could not keep the growl from my voice.

"So he wanted to drink my blood when he was on me?"

It was clear she was only confirming what she had known anyway, so I nodded. "I pulled him off, and dealt with your wound…"

"Yes, how did you do that?" Her hand went to the small silver line near her left eyebrow.

I told her about the venom and its capacity to heal, but also about the reason for its existence. There was no need to keep secrets anymore, either she had already condemned me, or she still cared about me, but I think that Charlotte is right about honesty needed in a relationship.

Bella was silent for a while, then she asked. "And… what happened with you when you were near my blood.

I flinched; she was far too observant for her own good. It had not been the bump on her head or the blood loss that had made her faint, she had been afraid of me, so there was no way out of this. "I had a weak moment. I have not had any human blood since I came here, and you smell so incredibly sweet…" Peter had almost been panting which had brought me back to my senses.

"But you did not give in…" Her voice sounded encouraging for the first time that evening.

"No. I remembered who you were, and I would never let anything happen to you. I got you back here and had Carlisle take a look at you because you were out such a long time, but he said you would be fine." I had been mad with worry about her, and had been the one Carlisle had to calm down before he could do anything on Bella.

She had sat down on her bed by now, and I had noticed that even though she was not about to kick me out like she had wanted to before, she was definitely still wary about me.

I decided to take the bull by the horns. "Did Edward frighten you with talk about my past?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around her knees for comfort.

"Darlin', I had no idea how to talk to you about that. All that is … so far from anything you have known, and I was scared you'd find me repellant and…"

"Why would you kill and fight in a war that cruel?" Her voice was choked with tears.

It took a lot not to go to her and comfort her, but I was sure she did not want me close to her right now.

"I had just woken up from the change, I was easily manipulated by my thirst and my insecurity, and I had just come from another very cruel war…" I tried to remember those first few years, something I usually avoided. "And I was also manipulated by love or what I thought was love, as well as by my ambition – in the Confederacy I had been one of many, in Maria's army I was her second in command, I was helping her win. Like I told you, I was a nightmare. Besides, I did not know there was anything else in this new existence of mine. It took Peter and Charlotte's love to make me realize that."

She looked at me again shyly, and I could feel her awkwardness about approaching the next topic that was on her mind. "Edward said… he told me…" Now this was going to be interesting. What could he have told her that was worse than my days with Maria?

"What did he say?" I asked calmly.

"He said you survived the last few decades by …drinking from girls you had seduced", she blurted out and hid her blushing face.

Oh, ah. I could see how that would affect her. "It is true, but please let me explain." I went to her, squatted by her bed and lifted her chin. "Please look at me!"

She looked up again, her eyes big with fear and something I did not understand.

"I was looking for love, for what Peter had found, and remember, I can feel what people around me feel, the more intense it is for them, the more I feel it. So I did not want any more horror and pain and fear to go with… my meals. I wanted my victims to feel the best they ever felt before. But even then I was disgusted by myself and what I was doing, so I kept starving myself, which is not a good idea, because it makes us more dangerous and the next meal more urgent, because the thirst is never quenched." I closed my eyes. "I told you, you would find me despicable if you knew me. You must think I'm an ugly monster who has wormed his way into your life and is about to destroy it."

When I looked at Bella again she was frowning. "Why would I think you ugly?"

I swallowed. "Because I'm not beautiful like Edward and the rest of the Cullens. My life in the war has left some scars…"

She was still frowning. "I don't understand, what a few scars…"

"Bella?" I pushed up my sleeve and turned the bedside lamp to an angle so she could see the bite-shaped mounds on my skin.

She shrugged. "What?"

Then it dawned on me. Humans could not see them. I had thought that my kills had been so dazzled by me or my gift that they had not noticed they were dealing with the beast. I shook my head and took Bella's hand to trace her fingers across one of the scars. When I let go, she continued, her eyes getting bigger and bigger. Soon I could feel anger from her. "Who the hell did this to you?"

"The war did." I did not want to go into any more details. Her touch on my skin was intoxicating, I was about to start purring. What was going on with her feelings now? The emotions of this girl were giving me the feeling of being on a rollercoaster. "Are you … disgusted by me? Do you want me to leave you alone right now?"

"No", she said quietly. "Actually right now I want to cuddle you and comfort you. And to give a piece of my mind to whoever did this!"

I could hardly believe my ears. "Could I just go for the first option? Because it might be that I actually deserved a few of them."

"No one deserves to be treated like a punching ball", Bella fumed. Then she sat down on the floor with me, pulled my head into her lap and kept stroking me.

"You really don't want me to leave?" I had to know where I stood; I could not stand this strain for much longer.

"No, I told you. But… I think if we are to be together, I need more information. I don't like being dumped in stuff suddenly…"

"I can understand that; in fact… Charlotte told me I would get into trouble if I wasn't honest with you anyway."

"I thought she was clever. Jasper, did you tell your friends to …eat those men in Port Angeles?"

Damn that mind-reader! "Yes. I could not bear the thought of them threatening you or… other girls. Besides, it's the way they feed."

"What do you mean?"

"Char and Peter only go after dealers and rapists. Char claims wife-beaters are particularly delicious… It's their way of dealing with the thirst."

"Ah. Hmm. Have they been feeding around here often?"

I sat up surprised. "No, that would be an idiotic idea, we want to keep a low profile here."

"Then why are there such a lot of 'animal attacks' like the one in Port Angeles in the neighboring counties?" She air-marked the inverted commas.


	24. Chapter 24

_**OK, OK, OK… Here is another chapter. The problem is, that I know how the story is going to end, which always slows me down in writing… I also can't promise regular updates from now on, but you guys have been so nice in reviews etc. that I simply could not leave you hanging any longer **_

23

Alice's POV

When I was alive my family put me into a madhouse, where I spent the last years of my human life, but little did I know that the Cullen House could be at least as mad and confused as my last abode!

This whole thing is becoming a bore! I know that Jasper killing James is my only chance, and I really need him to do this for me. Yes, I told him that I wanted Bella with Edward, because it would reduce the chance of a vampire/human relationship attracting James's attention, but after I saw Edward's latest harebrained scheme I knew I had to change my mind. Unfortunately I had not foreseen what an avalanche I would set off that way – there's irony for you! Only when Jasper was about to set Edward on fire did I realize that this way I would have to choose between the Cullens and Jasper and his friends. In contrast to Rosalie I like Charlotte (who has a natural beauty, which could be styled to be at least as pretty as Rosalie – this is why the Icequeen hates her), but I don't want to leave Carlisle and Esme or Emmett, who has been such a nice big brother for me. I also don't want to go back to feeding on humans, which is what they do. So I stopped them killing Edward, even before I saw the vision.

Hoping I could somehow talk everyone into calm, I helped put the silly boy back together and got him home after getting him some food. I have to admit had it not been for the vision, I might have strangled the self-righteous idiot himself for the way he started accusing all and everyone of being a danger to precious Bella and making plans about leaving Forks at once – preferable without Jasper. The discussion that was the consequence of all the chaos Edward had caused felt as if I had put my head into a washing machine, for all the noise and fussing, conflicting decisions and outcomes it provided, and they only stopped when I collapsed onto the sofa holding my head in pain. Then at last Carlisle took charge and allotted speaking time so everyone could state their opinion. In the end the vote was for remaining in Forks, for all sorts of reasons, but I don't care. I have my own reason for wanting to stay here, and I'm not moving before I graduate!

"Fine!" Edward said very quietly. "In that case I shall have to make myself scarce." He had been outvoted by everyone except Rosalie, and now turned to Carlisle, presumably for a dramatic good-bye.

I saw Carlisle look at his oldest son in a pained way, and at the same time Esme gave a choked noise, so I shook my head and cleared my throat pointedly. When he looked at me I shared my vision with him in my head.

He looked startled. "Oh – all right then. I think I'll have to reconsider, thank you Alice." With that he left all of us standing looking none the wiser. Seconds later meditative piano music flooded the house.

Emmett groaned and leaped out the nearest window. As Jasper's friends had also left and Esme and Carlisle were in desperate need of some alone time, I asked Rosalie to help make me presentable again – the whole affair had taken its toll on my outfit, hair and nails.

Bella's POV

Jasper sat up so suddenly that I jumped. "What do you mean?" he asked in an urgent voice.

I told him about the attacks that Charlie and his colleagues were dealing with, which made him get up and pace around my room at a speed that made him look blurred. After five minutes he stopped. "Bella, I'd like to take you along to the Cullens for now. We need to tell Carlisle what's going on. And Alice, too."

"It's the middle of the night, I can't just ….", I protested, but Jasper had already pulled me onto his back and jumped out the window with me. During the run he filled me in on Alice's story and the vampire who might be coming for her.

"What does that mean for us?" I was scared of him fighting, neither did I like the idea of him killing anyone, even a bad vampire.

He sighed. "I don't know right now. I don't even know if Carlisle will take me back after today, but I owe it to them to at least warn them of the danger. Alice said James would go for anyone with ties to humans, so that means that Carlisle and Esme would be in danger, and… I won't let that happen, no matter what they tell me."

When we arrived at the house, we disturbed Esme and Carlisle – I don't think I ever blushed more – but the doctor became serious at once and called everybody together. His wife disappeared upstairs at vampire speed, saying she wanted to get Alice and Rosalie, but I'm sure that she was as embarrassed as I had been about the situation. Peter and Charlotte came in seconds after us, which made me think that they must have been looking out for Jasper, something they would do, good friends that they are.

Edward joined the group, but stayed away from me as far as possible, which was a relief. I had not been ready to admit it, but I had definitely been scared by the idea of someone being that attracted to my blood. Maybe he had finally been too, and would keep a distance from me now. Fine by me. Peter noticed my determined look at Edward and grinned until Charlotte gave him a hard nudge with her elbow.

Jasper explained what I had told him, and he and Peter came up with a plan to fan out and hunt the dangerous vampires at once. I think, just the thought of that made me feel so scared that I must have lost consciousness.

"Bella?" Charlotte's voice was coming from far away, and her face was out of focus. I shook my head to clear it, and now I could see that Esme was also sitting with me. I was lying on Jasper's bed. IN the background I could see Rosalie's exasperated face. She was pacing by the window nervously and looked as if she would be chewing her nails if that wouldn't ruin them.

"Where is Jasper?" I sat up, a dark suspicion dawning on me.

"They have gone to track the…" Esme started in a soothing voice, but I did not let her finish – I was too angry for that.

Charlotte caught up with me at the front door. "No!" She said, firmly blocking my way. "I know you want to rip him to bits right now, and I would strongly advice you do that – verbally – as soon as he is back, or he will get all sorts of 19th century ideas about you, but as long as you're still mortal you can't go rushing around the forest hunting vampires!"

I huffed at her impatiently, crossed my arms and tapped my foot. As I was wearing only my socks, that did obviously not make much of an impression other that Charlotte trying not to laugh.

Rosalie had followed us out lazily (for a vampire) and had watched the exchange with interest. Now she was smiling at me for the first time. "You've got more guts than I gave you credit for", she said.

"Girls!" Esme called from the living room. "Why don't you come up here to keep me company? Bella, I have just made you some hot sweet tea, and I want you to drink every drop of that."

We shrugged at each other and went upstairs, where I was handed a perfect cup of tea and led to the sofa. "I'm sure they will solve the problem without violence. Carlisle doesn't approve of violence, you know", she said and covered my legs with a quilt. It was clear she wanted to calm me down, but as she was about as nervous as I was, I gave in to her fussing over me like a mother, which I rather enjoyed, too.

"Who made this?" I asked, pointing to the quilt.

"Oh, Rosalie and I did. It's a mathematical pattern, you know. Rosalie designed it, and I did the sewing."

We talked about all sorts of nothing for what seemed like hours until finally the others pricked up when their extra-sensitive ears picked up the sound of the men returning.

Yes, this chapter is a bit of a "Lumpensammler" (contains all sorts of bits and pieces of story), but at least it's a start to getting back into the story.

Bye for now - Stefi


	25. Chapter 25

_**Another chapter… I know updates have been scarce these times…**_

_**Anyway, have fun with this one!**_

24

Carlisle POV

I am so proud of my son!

After what happened today I would never have thought I'd say something like this, but it appears that you have to take things in context. Obviously, when Alice and Jasper's friends brought back Edward barely alive, I had a huge shock and was about to throw Jasper out as any righteous father would when his first child was hurt so bad by someone else. I literally had to stop Esme from rushing out and going for Jasper's throat – I've never seen her so angry. However, Alice talked us out of it, and it looks like she also gave Edward some comfort when he was about to leave on his own. He has not yet told me what it is, but has become very thoughtful and quiet, also something I'm not used to, especially lately when he had become so self-righteous and pompous that he infuriated even his mother.

Now Bella arrived with Jasper and gave us the news about some nomad coven who were killing people just outside our radar and we figured that it must be James, about to make his move. Luckily we had Jasper and his friends there who came up with a plan, so we went looking for the nomads. I have no experience whatsoever with things like this, so we followed Jasper's lead. At his suggestion we left Charlotte with the women, to make sure nothing happened back home. Alice came along in order to use the communication line between her and Edward so we could fan out and cover more space in our search for the other vampires.

I was with Edward and Peter, checking the southern counties while Jasper, Emmett and Alice were heading northwest. After about two hours Edward and Peter stopped simultaneously and changed direction at top speed – apparently something was happening where the other group was.

When we had almost reached Port Angeles we came upon them in a forest clearing. There were signs of fires, thick acrid smoke still rising from several heaps of ashes, and there was quite a lot of tension in the air. Alice was comforting Emmett, and Jasper was standing by himself off to the side.

I checked on Emmett first, worried that he might recklessly have got himself into trouble, but when I came to him I found that he was only shaken to the core.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We found them, and Jasper … he … they were feeding on a human… so…" Emmett did not go on. Alice looked nauseous and was not talking either.

Edward came to my side. "Jasper charged in and killed them, I've just seen their memories", he said quietly.

I took a deep unneeded breath. That sight would be unsettling to anyone with humanity left. "Are they all gone then?" I asked Alice.

She shook her head, her eyes big and fearful.

I frowned turning to Jasper. "I don't understand. I thought…"

"I couldn't…" His voice was almost inaudible.

Emmett POV

Oh god, please, someone make these pictures go away! I want to wake up and find it's all been a bad dream! I would never have thought that people could get like that, not even vampires.

At first it all looked like a big adventure, and I was really looking forward to hunting some bad guys with Jasper. I was spoiling for a fight, wanting to try out all the new moves I had just learned.

We tracked them down in the vicinity of Port Angeles. The gurgling cries of some unfortunate human could be heard from quite a distance, so we doubled our speed and circled them. There were five of them, but knowing Jasper's fighting skills and relying on my own, I was not worried. You never need to worry for Alice anyway.

We were only a second behind Jasper, but by the time we had reached the clearing, all five of them were on the ground, holding their heads. Jasper must have sent feelings of horror and fear before he charged at the two guys – newborns by the look of them – who had been going at the human. In no time at all he had them dismembered, throwing a lighter at me with the order to set the remains on fire.

At the same time the leader of the coven, this James about whom Alice has told us, and another male, who looked about Carlisle's age finally managed to get out from under Jasper's spell and set out to attack him from two sides with the speed of light. Alice tried to get in between, but even for her they were too quick. Not however for Jasper, who simply turned on them and had the older one on the floor so that I could hold him down and fought on with James, a vicious type if ever there was one. The female who made up the fifth member of the group had taken one look at us and disappeared into thin air as soon as she could move again, so Alice could help me tear the black guy to bits. I don't like this, it's not like fighting at all, it hurts and I don't like hurting people who have done nothing to me.

Soon it became clear that James was no match for Jasper either, and it did not take long for us to have another tidy heap of vampire ready to be burned. The two newborns were already going up in smoke, which marred our view, so we almost missed the female suddenly dropping from a nearby tree and hurling herself at Jasper with a vengeance.

Then something strange happened: Jasper did not fight back, he just held her at arm's length, to be out of reach of her clawing hands trying to gouge out his eyes or shred him to pieces.

Alice was pushing me to light the heap that had been James, but I frowned at Jasper. "What's going on, brother?" No reaction. "Jasper?" Then I remembered that when he had been in his fighting state, Peter had addressed him differently. "Major? What should we do?"

He shook himself, let go of the female and took the lighter from me. Then he turned back to her. "Leave. GO away from this area and never come back into my sight. Understood?"

She nodded, kneeling with the remains of her friends already trying to put them back together.

"Are you out of your mind? Why were we looking for them in the first place when you were just letting them go?" Alice screeched at Jasper.

"I can't. The pain was too much…"

"What pain?" Alice looked clueless – at least this time for once it wasn't me having missed the crucial thing alone.

"She is his mate, the pain she felt when we were about to set him on fire was…" Jasper stopped talking and turned away.

The other vampires had used the time and left with what was left of the human. Of course they would need the blood to heal, and let's face it – that guy would not have been sane after what he had been through. Only…

"What about Alice? Isn't that James guy threatening to take her away from us?" I turned around looking for the direction in which we should follow them.

"Not if he values his life", Jasper said quietly. "I don't think she will let him."

I must have looked skeptical – after all, would one really be dictated to by a female? – and checked with my sister.

"No-o", Alice said slowly. "He just made the decision to leave and not to come back, and I don't see him coming back for me." Then she suddenly slumped like a balloon with the air gone.

I sat with her and tried not to look at the two pyres or remember the screeching metallic sounds of vampires being ripped apart. I felt a lot more comfortable when Carlisle arrived. Somehow he always manages to make things alright again.

We went back as soon as we were sure the fires were out. Like on the way out we were going in two groups. Only this time Jasper and Carlisle stayed back while the rest of us ran ahead. Edward and I grabbed some moose along the way – Edward really needs to feed after the day he's had, and even as a vampire I still find that food's the best comfort.

Carlisle POV

"Tell me what happened!" I said to Jasper when we were alone and jogging along in a comfortable trot.

"I just couldn't do it", he repeated after he had given me the bare facts in a concise military manner. "I have never been … comfortable with killing people; before… I just tuned out and let the monster rage, but now, with Bella and not needing to kill for food." He looked at me with desperate eyes. "You must hate me. I wanted to kill your son but did not manage to remove the threat from your daughter…"

"Jasper, I don't hate you. On the contrary, I'm proud of you."

Jasper stopped in mid-stride. "What?"

"You did not let the monster rule you, you gave in to your instinct for humanity when you did not rob that woman of her lover, and besides, from Emmett's reaction I doubt they will be seeking us out again anytime soon. This afternoon you were defending Bella against a bloodthirsty vampire, that's a completely different story. I don't think your reaction would have been much different when you were alive."

Jasper smiled. "Probably not, apart from the ripping. That would have been figuratively." Then he became serious again. "Would you really let me stay? What about Edward?"

"We will see. For the moment he is fine with it. Let's face it: it is part of the human experience, he is hurting, but I'm sure he has the resources to come to terms with the fact that Bella is with you."

"You are like areal father, do you know that?" Jasper asked.

"I hope so", I answered gruffly, trying to hide my emotions – a futile endeavor with an empath, which Jasper's grin told me. We spent the rest of the way in silence.

James's POV

I could not believe what had happened, and truth be told, it took quite some time for me to be coherent enough to actually have Victoria tell me exactly how things had played out.

"Ok", I said. "Change of plan. We're not going to do this."

"What?" Laurent and Victoria were incredulous.

"You heard me. I have just decided not to go back for Alice or these human-loving Cullens. Let's go!"

Several days later

"Now Victoria, tell me everything you can remember about the guy who took me down!"

"Well, you saw him, and the big brawny guy called him Jasper. And Major."

"Ah… Now that's interesting!"


End file.
